debate issue 13, 2011

issue 13 2011

Battle of the bands photos

www.ausm.org.nz

the money-making land of oz

interview with cut copy

saying goodbye to harry potter

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issue 13 2011

ISSUE 13 2011

5 Editorial 6 Letters 8 Creative Corner 9 News Quiz 10 Battle of the Bands Photos 11 News 13 How To/Recipe 14 AuSM Update 15 The Budget Aftermath

Jarred Williamson overviews the losers of the 2011 Budget

on the cover

Golden Tower

by Andreas Nielsen

editor

all rights reserved.

Samantha McQueen samantha.mcqueen@aut.ac.nz

designers

Deanne Antao Nonavee Dale

sub-editor Alisha Lewis

contributors

Vaughan Alderson | AuSM | Jo Barker | Petra Benton | Ben Carroll | Pooja Chandnani | Alicia Crocket | Dante | Jess Etheridge | Ksenia Khor | Katie Montgomerie | Ashleigh Muir | Andreas Nielsen | Jeremy Olds | Philippa Ormrod | Page Orwell | Sophie Putze | Ximena Smith | Corrie Taylor | Cazlynne Theron | James Wheeler | Jarred Williamson

advertising contact

Kate Campbell kate.campbell@aut.ac.nz

printer

16 Green is the New Black 16 University: What’s the Point?

17 The Land of Oz 18 Cut Copy Interview

This publication is entitled to the full protection given by the Copyright Act 1994 (“the Act”) to the holders of the copyright, being AUCKLAND STUDENT MOVEMENT AT AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED (“AuSM”). Reproduction, storage or display of any part of this publication by any process, electronic or otherwise (except for the educational purposes specified in the Act) without express permission is a break of the copyright of the publisher and will be prosecuted accordingly. Inquiries seeking permission to reproduce should be addressed to AuSM.

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Material contained in this publication does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of AuSM, its advertisers, contributors, PMP Print or its subsidiaries.

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PMP Print Ltd.

Samantha McQueen interviews the band about their latest album

20 Paper vs. Plastic

Ximena Smith looks at why it’s not as simple as switching from plastic to paper

21 From Comics to the Silver Screen: Thor 22 Harry Potter: It All Ends Alisha Lewis says goodbye to her favourite boy wizard

23 Procrastination Page 24 Horoscopes on Shuffle 25 Columns 26 Agony Aunt/Word of the Week 27 Suggestions/Horoscopes 28 Fashion

Petra Benton speaks to a former AUT grad about the magic of costumes

29 What Are You Wearing 30 Reviews

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issue 13 2011

directory

T

his is a weird time in the year.

We can officially say goodbye to unseasonably warm days, which tease us into thinking it’s the second coming of summer. From June to September, even if it’s “unseasonably warm”, it’s still going to be experienced with wool coats, unfashionable sleepwear and power-guzzling heaters.

All the television shows are wrapping up in the states and now we have to find other ways to reward ourselves for finishing a reading, an essay paragraph or even for making giant fluro cue cards and sticking them on your walls. Even Super rugby – the fall back plan for a Saturday night – is winding up, leaving us with only a few test matches before New Zealand’s international moment of glory. Who will be the substitute Dan Carter? Will the boys finally discover drop goals? Does Graham Henry know how to smile? Will we choke?

It’s the end of lectures and classes for semester one, but at the same time, it’s the beginning of an intense studying process that will determine whether you pass or fail, either a paper or even your entire course. At the end of exams it will be the beginning of the winter break, or for some of you, the beginning of a new chapter in your lives. The end of semester one might only mean that you get to cross another semester off your degree to most of you reading this, but to others, it will be the last issue of debate you read (I know, I’m tearing up too).

After these final exams, assignments and tests are all done and dusted, most of you will become part of a club the majority of the New Zealand population belongs to – the workplace.

The workplace is a funny thing. Everyone is so eager to get their first job, splash out on their work wardrobe and receive regular payments that cover more than just rent and food for the week. But it’s a tough transition into the working world; unlike Chris Warner and Carrie Bradshaw, most graduates won’t be able to take two hour lunches and spend their office hours chatting about the latest dating scandals or getting in some retail therapy. There’s no such thing as a three day weekend and the break that the rest of the university is about to experience would equate to your entire annual leave. Hollywood has glamorised the workplace, just like it has everything else, and as a result we are so eager to surge through our university education.

Sure, it sucks coming home to mi goreng or marmite and toast each night for dinner because you can’t afford “real food” but when else in your life are you able to wake up at noon for your first class of the day, or experience summer in all its entirety without having to worry about deadlines, contracts and office politics?

So for those are coming back next semester, remember to savour every moment of it. For every all-nighter or torturous lecture, there are dozens of other days dedicated to being free from the shackles of responsibility. Despite what the workplace says, being a student rocks.

reception

City Campus Level 2, WC Building 921 9805 8am-5pm Mon-Thurs 8am-4pm Fri North Shore Campus Level 2, AS Building 921 9949 8.30am-3pm Mon-Fri Manukau Campus MB107 921 9999 ext 6672 9am-3.30pm Mon-Thurs

management

Sue Higgins General Manager 921 9999 ext 5111 sue.higgins@aut.ac.nz

representation

Veronica Ng Lam AuSM Student President 921 9999 ext 8571 vnglam@aut.ac.nz

advocacy

Nick Buckby Liaison Manager 921 9999 ext 8379 nick.buckby@aut.ac.nz

marketing/events

Rebecca Williams Marketing Manager 921 9999 ext 8909 rebecca.williams@aut.ac.nz

advertising

Kate Campbell Marketing & Sales Coordinator 921 9999 ext 6537 kate.campbell@aut.ac.nz

media

Samantha McQueen Publications Co-ordinator 921 9999 ext 8774 samantha.mcqueen@aut.ac.nz

sports

Melita Martorana Sports Team Leader 921 9999 ext 7259 melita.martorana@aut.ac.nz

vesbar

Zane Chase Vesbar Manager 921 9999 ext 8378 zane.chase@aut.ac.nz For a full list of contact details plus profiles of AuSM staff & student executive and information on clubs visit:

www.ausm.org.nz

www.ausm.org.nz

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Letter of the week wins two movie tickets for Event Cinemas!

Letter of the week: Dear Debate,

You made me so angry I wanted to smack you in the face, and I’m not normally a violent kind of person. I was disgusted and deeply offended by the article written about obesity. I find it highly inappropriate to suggest that being bigger is “ugly”. I realise you are not a girl, but try living for one day as a teenage girl, and with the pressures we feel to “look good”. To have someone publicly humiliate your body shape and accuse you of simply being lazy is absolutely horrible. People can still eat shit food and be skinny, how about you take that into account. You can’t just stereotype that obese people are all lazy; do you think Oprah Winfrey is lazy? I agree that New Zealand should cut GST off fruit and vegetables but according to you the “FAT” people are some horrendous disease of society while smokers are perfectly within in their rights to blow cancerous smoke into our faces. The best advice for your writing is, if you have nothing nice to say maybe you should just say nothing at all.

From Offended

20KGS put it back on. Imagine having to start back at square one all over again. I don’t disagree that GST should be cut on fruit and veges, more education on healthy eating should be put out there. But here is a fact: we all deal with emotions differently. Obese people simply show on the outside how they have dealt with it.

From Annoyed

Dear Annoying First Year girls in the City Campus Library.

debate letters policy: Letters need to make it into debate’s mailbox before Wednesday, 3pm each week for the following issue.

You must give us your name when submitting letters to be eligible for letter of the week, but you can use a pseudonym for publication if you wish. Any letters longer than 250 words may be subjected to editing. Spelling and grammar will not be corrected. The editor reserves the right to decline without explanation. Most importantly, the views contained on the letters page do not necessarily represent the views of AuSM. Send your letters to debate@aut.ac.nz or if you want to kick it old school, PO Box 6116, Wellesley St, Auckland.

using the phrase because there’s actually nothing wrong with it when you use it in terms of saying something is lame, looks like people who have a problem with this particular usage of the word will just have to wait until a new phrase catches on.

Peace, BFD

Dear Debate and Loyal Debate Readers,

In the 12 years that I’ve been a vegan, I have to say I have come across countless articles in I would just like to remind you that level 6 of magazines, newspapers and of course throughout the library is a SILENT study floor.This means I the internet, which have provided some discussion certainly don’t want to hear about your drunken on the phenomenon of vegetarianism, in all exploits with the guy you met at Globe last it’s various forms; some have been great, some weekend or how hard your assignments are, let have been so-so, some have been down-right alone hear your annoying voice and irritating awful. Time magazine did a great article on laughter while I am trying to study for my exams. vegetarianism and veganism a number of years We pay a lot of money to be at Uni and should ago, which was top-notch I would say. In the take studying seriously, so I am writing this to 12 years that I’ve been meat-free I’ve noticed a ask you nicely to please grow up and have some general improvement of articles on this issue consideration - I know you could just tell me appearing throughout printed media (I think there that if I was unhappy with the noise you were was even one in Debate back in 2008 for example, making I could either get up and move or tell you could be wrong), so when I saw your cover this to shut up, but the point is that I shouldn’t have week, I was excited, I thought “there is not way to do so.So please, if you can’t keep quiet, move that Debate, which has always appeared to have Dear Debate to another level and leave me and other students high quality content, could miss the boat on this Obviously who ever wrought the article on the who value silence while we study alone. simple topic!” Unfortunately, I was wrong. Dead “obesity epidemic” in last weeks issue of debate Sincerely, wrong. had just done a quick google search , rather than Silence is Golden.

I don’t have a copy in front of me at the time of find out information about obesity. writing this letter over my breakfast of porridge No one wants to be obese. And who says that and soy milk (which by the way is an unplanned society doesn’t judge obese people?

Dear Debate, way of me getting all the protein, calcium, B12 Just stop for a second to think why these “obese” I have just read the article written about people and iron I need to start my day), so I can’t at this people don’t want to leave there house. Imagine using the phrase “That’s so gay” and how the moment point out specifics that were problematic being put in a fat suit and living a day in an obese writer believes it’s derogatory and basically with this article. I think it is sufficient to say that persons shoes. Imagine hopping onto a bus and unacceptable. Let me start by saying that i know the primary problem with the article was that, think will another person fit beside me? Imagine several gay individuals whom i consider close over all, it came across as lacking actual, accurate walking into a clothing shop and the shop and personal friends. I use the phrase “That’s information about the topic. Given the wide assistant looking at you thinking “no way will you so gay” openly around all of them and they in scope of information about vegetarianism that fit anything here”. fact use it too. This is because they understand is available out there, I would have thought that Obesity is a SYMTOM of bigger problems, not that while gay does mean homosexual in some the author would have at least referred to some of the PROBLEM. Emotional eating is a huge factor contexts, it has other meanings also. They don’t the other, fantastically written articles that exist, in obesity. take it personally at all, homosexual wasn’t and maybe taken a cue from them. Instead what Laziness and obesity don’t go hand in hand. even the original meaning of the word, it meant appeared was an uninformed opinion piece that What a joke. Is Oprah Winfrey one of the most happy. So now, another meaning has emerged powerful women in the world lazy? and the word “gay” can now mean something like filled two pages up with misinformation at best.

So I apologise. If I hadn’t been so busy with Obesity cannot be potrayed as people who sit in “lame”(another word thats meaning has changed chairs and beds getting fat, obesity is the person over time). So as for the argument about replacing my university work I might have had the time to help contribute something to your pages. On sitting next to you on the bus maybe 5 foot 7 the word “gay” with “Asian”, it makes no sense behalf of all the Debate readers who have never and weighs 85 Kgs. Walk down the street and as Asian has one distinct meaning while gay has contributed, but certainly could write fantastic spot how many people fit this describtion. The several. Of course there are SOME people who articles for you, I extend a huge apology. majority of the obese and overweight people are use the term derogatorily, but generally it’s not; 1 27/05/11 2:21 PM it’s simply a word we know that expresses dislike Your’s apologetically, tryingonlineclassified2.pdf to lose the weight , something much easier Michael Brenndorfer, Nursing Student, AUT said than done. One in six people who lose over of a situation. There’s no way I’m going to stop

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issue 13 2011

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7.

Dante Pleasure Cuts Dark rooms sit like file cabinets along the walls of the long dark corridor. A black door merges into a black wall, a handle turns, the red lights hold fast. A man stumbles into the corridor, tugging on his belt.

He twists the sign with sin soaked hands. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry” he mutters heading back towards the shop.

His left hand traces the wall, his right hands fingers trip over the spherical handles of each of the doors.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He continues toward the door. Light creeps under the divide between the frame and the floor. A door opens behind him.

He arches his neck, and then looks back down. The woman follows his footsteps, fingers dripping into her high heels. A free hand slides across her face, across partially opened lips. Her tongue flickers. Her mind is blank as she follows the man, fumbling with her purse.

The man’s fingers touch his wallet, his credit card sits between the tips as he opens the door. The woman opens her purse and fills with shame as a small photograph of her husband greets her. Both feel sick.

Both hesitate, neither breathes. The woman takes her credit card out from her purse. Still stopped she watches the man leave the corridor. Knowing he’ll pay, wondering how. The woman straightens breathes in.

Holds it. Breathes out. Closes her eyes.

The man stops, one step outside the door, his body shakes, his head spins. He wants more. “Not tonight, not tonight, not now.” His mind fights, his body turns, the door shuts. He begins walking back towards the booth, pulling up the sleeves of his jacket. The woman watches, as he passes her by, opening the door, the screen illuminates the room. The woman lusts. The man sits down, leans back, closes then opens his eyes.

She watches the screen, listening intently for the shift in his breath, the increase in his heart rate, the sick feeling churn in his stomach. Stepping into the door way, fingering the nails in the frame, she turns and leaves. Heading down the corridor, toward the slither of light, her bent knuckles in the heels of her shoes refuse to move. She pushes open the door.

A door opens; the man leaves his booth, the door to the corridor swings shut. “They made it. How? How did they? I need to stop. I can’t stop, I’m sorry, I wish I could.”

Bathroom lights reflect in the guilty retinas of the man. He washes his face in the cold water of the taps, and then takes a lipstick from his pocket. Searching for comfort between each breath, he paints lips on to his face. Lipstick slashes coat his arms, words breathe through them. The water washes his breaths away.

“LOVE” consumes his left arm “ADDICT” engulfs his right. He pulls open the buttons on his shirt and carves his chest with lipstick red; his lipstick lips kiss his own. “I AM SORRY” clings desperately to his chest.

Lipstick red stains his shirt, the key turns in the lock.

He shudders at the sound of his own breath as he walks. The woman closes her eyes; peace follows each new breath, her body cold and her skin damp. His arms stick to his sides, “Love” smears against his body.

He pulls back the white sheets and closes his eyes.

Ben Carroll Auckland

I opened the doors to my thoughts.

Doors touched once in a while, Thoughts linked to the past...

Twirl around me, Restless Fast..

Like a thread of beads Each let loose one by one...

I can’t control their temerity, My mind is cagey in these situations.

They remind me of…everything.

Home The rain Your smile.

Yes…Your smile.

That’s when they slow down.

As if you possess complete sovereignty.

They obey your every command.

And when you decide to leave They are no longer wild, No longer agonising These thoughts remind me of memories Once locked behind closed door And I’m amazed at your ability Of taming tireless thoughts.

Pooja Chandnani Taming Tireless Thoughts

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issue 13 2011

Whitcoulls and Borders were sold to the Norman family two weeks ago. What other businesses do they own? a) Farmers b) Pascoes c) Stevens homeware d) All of the above

2

What was Gil Scott Heron’s – who died on May 27 at age 62 – last album called?

5

Which Super Rugby team changed their uniform last week?

a) Blues b) Highlanders c) Reds d) Stormers

6

What is the correct term for a bunch of bananas that you purchase at a supermarket or food store?

a) I’m New Here b) Spirits c) Pieces of a Man d) Reflections

a) Cluster b) Bunch c) Hand d) Clowder

3

7

a) Spanish b) German c) Danish d) Finnish

a) Andrew b) Phillip c) Alexander d) Roy

4

8

Sieben, acht and vier are all numbers in which language?

Which of these films was NOT directed by Steven Spielberg?

a) Jaws b) Saving Private Ryan c) The Terminal d) Shawshank DW-RSHD Debate Redemption AW.pdf 1

23/05/11

9:33 AM

9

Which Disney movie is returning to theatres in September in 3D, ahead of its DVD re-release in October? a) Beauty and the Beast b) The Little Mermaid c) Snow White d) The Lion King How much does the New York Times Sunday edition newspaper cost (in US$)? a) $1.50 b) $3.25 c) $5 d) $6

What is Prime Minister John Key’s middle name?

What car company manufactures the Micra model?

a) Toyota b) Nissan c) Mitsubishi d) Honda

Answers: D, A, B, D, B, C, B, B, D, C

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issue 13 2011

AUT students showcase art in gallery exhibition

by Corrie Taylor

AUT students are excited to promote the opening of the “Here Are You” exhibition in Auckland this month which will feature some of the students’ best work.

The exhibition will run from June 13-17 at Gallery 3 on Symonds St. It will display the final results of a six-week project titled “Here Are You” which had the illustration students drawing 10 images per week.

The images were supposed to map each student’s own existence and experiences, to make them aware of all the things in life and get them to question “what is illustration?”.

Each student will have two final pictures on display; one picked by their

tutor and the other chosen themselves.

One of the students, Melissa Wright, says she loved the project and found it was a great way to develop her own sense of style.

“The process was a really good way to learn things and pick up on things in our work that we hadn’t noticed before.”

The students are in their final year of a Bachelor of Graphic Design at AUT University. For most of them this will be the first time they have had their course work displayed publicly.

Ellen Robertson has been producing artwork since she was a child and found the project really enjoyable, but a lot of work.

AUT students juggle study and a trans-Tasman netball tournament through all of last season not playing so it was a big build up.

“The second time I started against Canterbury and that was very different. I played for a full quarter.”

Bailey, who plays GS and GA, said there was a change in the season this year, making it shorter because of the Netball World Cup in July, meaning there was not a lot of time between playing and travelling to get studying done.

“Three papers may have been a bit ambitious I think. But I fit stuff in when I can and I’m dealing with it,” she says.

“You’ve just got to go with the flow.”

Portia, who was called up after the Mystic’s third game when Joline Henry got injured, also played two games for the team.

“I adjusted to it quite well. I thought I For many students, studying, working would freak out. It was nerve-wracking and having a social life are hard enough to when I got on the court.” manage.

She played half a game at WD against Then add a burgeoning and very the Melbourne Vixens and a quarter successful sporting career to that… now against the Adelaide Thunderbirds. you have the lives of two of AUT’s best The netball superstar has just been and brightest, netball superstars Portia named in the New Zealand under 21 team Woodman and Bailey Mes. that is currently on tour.

Both students have played for the “Making that team was a massive bonus.

Northern Mystics this season, who I never thought I’d make it. I was so finished second in the ANZ Netball amazed I didn’t really believe it.”

Championships at the end of May, going The pair are now gearing up for the club down 57-44 to the Queensland Firebirds. season, both playing for different teams Portia, 19, is in her first year of the in the Auckland competition before the Bachelor of Sport and Recreation (BSR) National Provincial Championships at the majoring in exercise science while Bailey, end of this year.

22 is completing a Bachelor of Health Bruce Meyer, manager of sport Science having transferred from the BSR. development and student athlete support, This was Bailey’s second year in the says both students have had to handle a team, but her first chance at court time. lot of travel and a lot of pressure while still The first was play in the last few minutes studying and they have handled it well. of the team’s game against the Wellington “My hat’s off to any athlete that wants to Pulse. compete at that top level and be “The first time I went on I was pretty in study.” average because I was so nervous. I went www.ausm.org.nz

Robertson says the project taught her a new way of drawing. “I began by drawing from an old photo of me sleeping in the couch, all my lines were crinkled. This led to me drawing elderly people and eventually my own nana.

“I normally draw with such straight lines, and I’m a perfectionist so it was interesting to draw things that weren’t ‘perfect’.”

The students are looking forward to seeing their work on display.

“I’m so excited about the exhibition,” says Wright. “It will be cool to see everyone’s work up in a gallery space instead of on pages of a visual diary.”

The opening of the exhibition will be in the evening of June 13.

Students having trouble hopping on board with Hop

by Cazlynne Theron

Cracks in the new Hop bus system implementation have caused bus passengers to call for more driver training and a suspension of large penalty fees.

According to Auckland transport, more 17,000 Hop cards have been distributed since the smartcard’s introduction.

The success of the first phase of the new card circulation saw 137 buses changed to the Hop method.

But AUT University student Julian Tang says his first experience using the new system has not been a pleasant one.

“The Go West change was implemented on Sunday last week. On Monday, I put money on my new Hop card for the first time, but I forgot to swipe off and lost nine rides. The next time I got on the bus the driver told me I owed money and had to pay him $2.”

A Hop call centre employee, who asked not to be named, said passengers with disputes are only able to have one reimbursement claim lodged during the grace period which ends on June 30.

“If you don’t tag off the GPS system will think you have gone to the end of the bus route – and the most you will be charged is $5.05.”

But that’s not good enough for some passengers.

Tang spent the majority of his Vodafone credit calling the Hop headquarters to get his problem fixed.

“They should at least allow free calling to Hop,” he says.

AUT University student Erin Roberts catches a bus to the North shore daily and says old habits by bus drivers logging off before the last stop has cost her unnecessary money.

“I get off at the last stop.

I couldn’t tag off yesterday because the driver had logged off before the stop as usual, to make things easier. But I was charged penalties for two stages.

When I got onto the next ride the following day, it had been stuffed up.”

Roberts says she called the Hop helpline and was told it would take 24 hours to see the transaction.

“I’m still waiting for a call back 24 hours later. It’ll take overnight to log a refund onto the system. But I have to pay to get to Britomart to get my refund – which is ridiculous.”

According to Hop call centre staff, Hop is looking at introducing more service centres soon in Newmarket and other central locations.

“There are always going to be hiccups at the start. A lot of people are using the new services, and a lot of people using the services aren’t experiencing any issues.”

11.

AUT PR students take on the world

by Jeremy Olds

The international stage awaits a group of AUT students who will get the chance to present three months of work in Barcelona at the end of June.

Seven of AUT University’s public relations postgraduate students are competing in a global communications competition for the first time.

The competition, Global Communications Project, requires students to work in teams with people from 11 other universities around the world to create a PR campaign for Carl Zeiss, an optics company.

The competition finishes with a conference held in Barcelona where they present their proposal to Carl Zeiss managers, after which a winner is announced.

Scott McKee, a public relations postgraduate student, says that the students have used a variety of technologies to work with their “virtual teams” across different cultures, languages and time zones.

“We are using a variety of communication technologies, including Facebook chat and Skype.”

He says the students have been fundraising since April to send as many of the class as possible, including a Salsa dance night and sausage sizzles.

Most recently they held a screening of the Spanish film Biutiful, which raised

more than $2000.

“We still need a lot more to get more of our class to Spain,” he says.

McKee says the trip to Barcelona is a special opportunity for the students.

“We’ll get to present our proposal to senior communication managers from Carl Zeiss as well as meet many other PR industry leaders from around the world.

“And of course there’s a chance of being in the winning team.”

The project’s global team mentor, AUT senior lecturer Averill Gordon brought the project to AUT from the University of Gloucestershire where she previously worked.

She says the project is significant as it internationalises the curriculum and addresses the growing trend of globalisation.

“It gives students an authentic learning experience in a multinational environment”.

Gordon, who is completing her PhD on the strategic management of global virtual teams, says there is very little research on virtual team leadership.

“Virtual teams are very different from face-to-face teams and require new management skills”.

She says the competition offers AUT students the chance to be at the forefront of international business and is pioneering new ways of working.

Internet scams not just on the internet anymore

by Philippa Ormrod Con artists pretending to work for Microsoft Corporation are tricking people into buying fake anti-virus software over the phone.

People around the country are receiving calls telling them their computer is running slowly due to a problem with their internet connection.

AUT University Student Heloise Kerr-Newell has answered two calls in the same week from a man claiming he worked for the software giant.

Kerr-Newell admits she almost fell victim to the scam.

“When they rang the first time I just heard the words ‘Microsoft’ and thought it must be legitimate,” she says.

“I only realised it was a con because he asked me to turn on my desktop computer when everyone in our flat uses laptops.”

Kerr-Newell quickly hung up the phone but later that week the same thing appened again.

This time she kept the conversation going to see what the scammers asked of her next.

The foreign caller told Kerr-Newell to turn on her computer and enter a keypad combination.

“They started pointing things on my screen out to me and telling me it meant I had a virus,” she says.

Kerr-Newell says they then tried to sell her an anti virus programme for $200.

“I yelled at them ‘this is a scam’ and told them I’d call the police if they rang again.”

Alastair Stewart, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs’ Scamwatch service, says that 17 per cent of New Zealander’s have been targeted by the recent scam.

“The scammers promise to fix your computer for a one-off fee in an attempt to get access to your credit card details “Telephone scammers are often forceful, intimidating and prey on citizens who may be in vulnerable positions, such as the elderly,” he says.

Stewart says the best defence against scams is to remain vigilant and adopt some commonsense tactics.

“Hang up earlier, rather than later.

Install anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall software and keep these up-to-date.”

The Housing is Greener on the Other Side

by Philippa Ormrod The North Shore has become home to many students as rental prices heat making living in Auckland City near impossible.

AUT student Lynelle Smith has moved from the city to the North Shore after months of searching for a flat.

Moving over the bridge is the easiest way to avoid paying ridiculous prices for dank and dirty homes, she says.

“We lived in Kingsland last year but our flat was horrible, it was overpriced, dirty and freezing in winter.”

Smith and her flatmates wanted a better flat but there was lots of competition and nothing available in their budget.

“Every open home we went to had hundreds of other people looking at it.”

Professionals and students are vying for the same properties, most of which are leaking, mouldy and extremely dirty.

Alistair Helm, CEO of realestate.co.nz, says there is more demand than supply for Auckland City rentals.

“Clearly, given the density of the student population and people working in the city, it means city properties are more sought after,” he says.

Helm says students have become the victims of this economic situation because hikes in prices mean they can’t compete.

“The unfortunate reality is students are less

able to adjust to price changes. Some people are prepared to pay more but students can’t afford to.”

Smith and her group started to look for places on the North Shore after weeks staying with friends.

“The North Shore was further away than we had originally hoped for but we quickly realised that there were far more places available, they were more fairly priced, and in much better condition.”

Smith and her flatmates were chosen for the first place they applied for.

“We now live in a modern, warm and clean house yet we pay the same rent as before,” she says.

The number of Auckland rental property listings on realestate.co.nz is down 20 per cent since June 2010.

Kiwi BMX Daredevil Defies Death

by Vaughan Alderson

A Kiwi BMX daredevil who rode his way into the Guinness World Records last month has admitted thinking the dangerous stunt would kill him.

Two weeks ago Jed Mildon, 24, of Taupo became the first person in the world to do a triple back-flip on a BMX bike.

But Mildon says he was afraid he would die attempting the world record after dreaming of his own death.

“I dreamt I was going to die right about the same time we started planning this a few months ago,” he says. “So it got me a bit worried. It made me realise how risky the stunt really is.”

“I was nervous but in the end I just committed to

12.

it and I managed to come out with the result.”

The triple back-flip was performed by rolling in from a 20-metre-high ramp to reach a take-off speed of 60km/h before landing on an 8-metrehigh ramp 10-metres away.

An official from the Guinness Book of World Records witnessed the stunt to document the record.

John Buultjens, CEO of Mildon’s sponsor Pilgrim BMX and fellow BMX rider, says all necessary precautions were taken to ensure Mildon’s safety.

“We spent at least three months planning the triple back-flip and working with Jed to get him ready for it,” says Buultjens.

Mildon says he practised for the stunt by learning how to bail safely into a foam pit or an airbag in case the stunt failed.

“No one has ever done this before, so it took a bit of work getting ready for it just in case it went wrong,” says Mildon.

The stunt was kept secret from the public until he performed it in front of 2000 fans at the Unit T3 Mindtricks event at Taupo Skate Park on May 28.

World-renowned BMX rider Dave Mirra held the previous record since 2000 with two consecutive back-flips. issue 13 2011

by Alicia Crocket

by Alicia Crocket When it’s exam time, students get to eat anything they want, right? Generally, this rule comes into play when people get stressed and think that what they eat doesn’t matter. This isn’t true; what you eat and drink absolutely affects how your brain works. If you want to be able to process the information in that textbook in front of you need to make sure you’re eating properly rather than just grabbing whatever packet of food comes to hand.

My first set of uni exams, I was convinced that a packet of ‘Smart Beans’ on my desk to nibble would give me the psychological edge to continue studying. A couple of kilos of weight and a failed exam later, I realised that all those jelly beans did was give me a sugar high which meant I couldn’t focus on what I was studying. That wasn’t quite the psychological edge I was looking for. So I ditched the ‘Smart Beans’ and looked for something better suited to help me keep my attention.

So now, my study snacks are popcorn if I’m at home and fruit, crackers and/or carrot sticks if I’m at uni. Homemade popcorn is best, so get out your pan and start popping! To make the perfect popcorn heat one tablespoon of oil on a medium heat.

When it’s hot add two and a half tablespoons popcorn kernels.

Once the first kernel pops put the lid on and gently move the pot to keep the kernels from sticking to the bottom. Once they’ve all popped, add a little salt and you have a perfect hot, satisfying study snack. Carrot sticks, fruit and crackers might seem like strange studying snacks, but what they’ll do is help you to stay focussed by providing longer lasting energy for your brain. Try and take a few minutes out from your books to grab a meal. Having a short non-thinking break really does help you concentrate for your next study session.

The other thing that’s important to avoid is loading up on energy drinks or coffee. The caffeine and sugar in these drinks might make you feel like you’ve got energy but it’s only an illusion. A sugar/caffeine high will not help you study or increase your chances of passing your exam. A sugar/caffeine high tends to leave you jittery and lowers your concentration ability, which is not what you need in your exam. There is also the inevitable drop when the caffeine and sugar wears out leaving you feeling tired and drained. Imagine getting that in one of your important exams!

Yes, exam time is stressful and you don’t necessarily have the headspace to consider what you’re eating. But you need to make sure what you’re eating will help rather than hinder you passing your exams. So snack sensibly and come out better off. Why waste a semester of uni because of an ill-timed sugar high/low – go for gold and make sure you’re at your peak performance when you walk into that exam room. Good luck.

www.ausm.org.nz

Serves 4–6 Dairy free, Gluten free (if use GF stock) Cost per serve: $1.72

This is a flavoursome yet beautifully balanced soup/stew. I first had it on a cold winter’s night at a potluck dinner and was hooked. It’s from a friend’s recipe book, Vegan Fire and Spice, by Robin Robertson.

Apparently it’s as close to the traditional stew Calloloo as you can get outside of the Caribbean. This is one of my go to meals when I’m in a rush and need a comforting dinner. It’s incredibly quick to prepare and cook and most of the ingredients are always in my pantry. You can substitute pumpkin for the kumara, but you need to be careful how long you cook the pumpkin because it will fall apart quite quickly.

Ingredients 1 Tbsp oil 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves, chopped OR 3 tsps minced garlic 1 kumara (about 500-600g), diced into 1cm cubes 1 capsicum, preferably red, chopped ½ tsp chilli powder or minced chilli 1x400g can chopped tomatoes 2 bunches silverbeet or spinach or a combo of both, coarsely chopped 2-3 tsps vegetable stock mixed with 3 cups water 1 cup coconut milk (or ½ cup coconut cream mixed with ½ cup water) Salt and pepper to taste Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over a medium heat 2. Add the onion, garlic, chilli and capsicum, cook until clear and

softened 3. Add kumara, stock and tomatoes. Bring to the boil and cook for 5-10 minutes or until kumara is starting to soften 4. Add in the greens and coconut milk and season to taste 5. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the kumara is completely cooked and the flavours have blended 6. Serve by itself, with toast or garlic bread

13.

Got a cell phone you don’t need?

Bring a Phone to Work Day on Thursday, June 9 is your opportunity to support Starship by getting friends, family and work colleagues to donate their old mobile phones.

Phones are refurbished and sold with proceeds going directly towards funding of Starship’s Air Ambulance Service. This service brings the most seriously injured and critically ill children to Starship from all parts of New Zealand. Any phones beyond repair are recycled through the appropriate environmental channels. AuSM will have collection points at every office.

Re:Orientation first announcement

Before you all leave us on holiday let us whet your appetite with a taste of our Re:Orientation line-up.

So far we have confirmed the photo booth, cowboy party (with free spare ribs and mechanical bull riding), Bitchin’ Bingo, mini golf in the quad/ plaza, Mexican fiesta and a daytime foam party.

Free feeds will include Mexican buffet, hot potatoes and random afternoon snacks where we can.

We’ll also be tossing out lots of prizes throughout.

We are still to announce the major act for the festival, which will take place in the second week.

It’ll be free for students and a first for AUT. We can give you one clue… it’s not a Kiwi performer.

14.

Stay gripped to your email - more info coming soon.

Here are some other key dates for semester two July 13: Academic Orientation City July 15: Academic Orientation North Shore July 16: Academic Orientation Manukau July 18: Re-Orientation begins July 27: Re:Orientation SURPRISE act August 1-September 2: AUT Futsal Champs August 1-September 2: Netball Social League held on North Shore campus

August 5: Northern Tertiary Challenge August 19: Auckland Students Cup (Manukau) August 25: Mid-semester party at Vesbar September 9-October 23: Rugby World Cup live at

Vesbar

October 3-21: Turbo Touch League October 9: AUT Sevens tournament October 9: Bathurst Sunday sessions at Vesbar October 10: AuSM SGM – lunch provided October 13: Vesbar Octoberfest November 1: Melbourne Cup live at Vesbar For more information on AuSM Events visit: www.ausm.org.nz

*Dates were correct at time of print and are subject to change

issue 13 2011

by Jarred Williamson

S

o I was meant to write this two weeks ago so it would have come out last week, but illness and the procrastination of study distracted me from the task at hand. Anyway, the budget came out a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised to see very little coverage in debate. Usually someone might do some cool article, breaking down the budget, but I digress. All I could see were two articles over two issues in the news section and both of which have made me write this column.

The first major issue was apparent cuts to the tertiary sector. Funding will drop around $500 million to $4.1 billion. Yes, it may seem like it will disadvantage some students, and it may do, but I think it presents a challenge to universities and their student unions. Instead of complaining about losing funding, why not buckle down and make the dollar go further – put most of the money where it is most needed. Maybe we can do without the little ‘extras’ for a year or two. This of course, ties in with voluntary student membership coming into law in 2012. It’s a bit of a heated topic, but I’m sure students will be happy with AuSM and pay their annual membership fee.

Student loan schemes and student allowance schemes are becoming a headache, if not a migraine for many governments internationally.

The cold hard fact is that governments generally have to borrow your allowance or living cost payment money to pay for their schemes and not many people really know comes from. The loan scheme is this fact. Next time think about becoming a major problem for the where government. When they came into power in late 2008, the books were the colour of the Labour Party – red. The times of hearing about huge surpluses were long gone and the prospects of getting anymore, anytime soon were like a conservative’s wet dream.

Oh, but it’s our right to have this money, somehow we are owed this! Yeah, cool story bro. It’s all very well looking at it that way, but the reality is that 15 per cent of borrowers now live overseas and combined they owe the New Zealand Government more than $2 billion.

Here’s something else: they’re not paying it back fast enough, if at all. It is also common fact that these students moved overseas for better pay and employment opportunities, so hello, where are these dollars you owe? It’s pretty ignorant to have two Kiwi students working in a Sydney design firm and telling the reporter they weren’t going to pay back their loans to help out Christchurch or pay them back because they actually owe money.

Green MP Gareth Hughes has been vocal about the ‘cuts’ to the tertiary sector. He may have a point about keeping course-related costs on track with inflation, but taking a look at the real picture – are all these little perks to the tertiary sector really affordable anymore?

www.ausm.org.nz

With repayment rates dropping every year, they’re not really affordable anymore.

Don’t forget Labour only offered the interest free loans policy just before the 2005 as a last minute election bribe. It was never really thought out properly. Don’t get me wrong, it is a luxury to have a loan interest free while you study, but thinking like a Utilitarian, do I sacrifice this luxury for the greater consequence of relieving the New Zealand government’s financial burdens or not?

Time and time again, it just seems like some people either don’t want to or cannot accept that Labour’s big spend up days are gone. Get real, the government doesn’t have that kind of money anymore. They were trying to keep up with the large spending packages, but clearly it is unsustainable. Perhaps if we explored more ways of increasing economic growth, like mining for example.

Look at Australia; they’re doing so well off it. Oh, wait… most Kiwis didn’t want mining and that’s fine. So guess what? Suck it in. Wake up and smell the roses, there’s not a lot of economic growth happening, so these big government spend ups aren’t gonna happen.

15.

Everyone thinks that to be “environmentally aware” we should all be washing ourselves with a bucket of water or making our own clothes from flax. This is not the case. There are many different ways that we ourselves can be green without being weird, gross, gypsies or any other stereotype that springs to mind. Just take a look at your favourite celebs like Cameron Diaz or George Clooney; no one is having a go at them.

Despite the fact that all the eco-friendly celebs I came across drive a Toyota Prius Hybrid, there are things we can do on a slightly smaller scale that make the difference. Here are a few to get you going:

Unplug

All of us are guilty of leaving our chargers, iPods, laptops, GHDs etc plugged in all day or overnight. Even when they are not turned on, they consume a lot of energy.

Extra bonus on this one – it saves you money on your electricity bill. Student: 1, Environment: 1.

Cut Down on Hot Water

Yes winter is setting in and I know it’s pretty cold, but there are easy ways to do this without compromising too much on heat. Instead of having a bath, have a shower.

You’ll use a lot less water, and there will still be some hot water for your flatties.

Drive Less

If you need to drive, try to car pool. If it’s not a necessity, get to know how the new Hop card works and make use of public transport. You’ll save on petrol, parking and if you start to walk a little more, you’ll work off that morning hot chocolate with marshmallows in no time!

Recycle More

This one should be pretty easy. A little bit of effort goes a long way here. Take that can/bottle/tin and put it in the blue bin, not the green one. Unless you’re colour blind, you have no excuse. The same goes for paper. Grab a cardboard box and put all those drafts of your assignments from last week in it. When you go shopping, bring reusable bag(s) – this one doesn’t have to just apply to groceries.

You’ll also find that charities, like Starship Hospital, collect old cell phones. Go have a rummage and find that Nokia 3310 you had at intermediate, it deserves a new home.

Encourage Others

by Nicole Brown

Now that you’re equipped with this handy guide, pass it on and set a good example.

Even if you only do one thing from this list, make sure you point your friends and family in the right direction. Plus, I’m sure your granny would love to start her own vege garden.

by Declan Salmon

what everyone says getting a degree is for – isn’t it?

Isn’t that the reason we get our fat asses off the Us students are now at the breaking point; couch and into the classrooms? Isn’t that why we attempt to remove all aspects of our social lives for assessments we should have started months ago are now due within a few days and exams are looming weeks at a time? Even though we all have different reasons for going to uni (parents, extra skills, the free in the near future. Students are dropping like flies; classes are half-empty and the students that do feeds etc) we all know what it is we want out of it: a attend are zombie-like. Black circles surround the gateway to a freakin’ awesome future. At least that’s what I stay here for. I want the knowledge to become eyes of sleep deprived students. Eyes which they vacantly stare out of as they shuffle slowly about an amazing entrepreneur and with that knowledge comes power and confidence. I hope everyone else is the campus, grunting vaguely in what can only be attempts at communication. here to get that amazing power giving knowledge too.

The non-procrastinators aka nerds (jokes I’m a So as hard as this time is, keep on trucking, keep the motivation up just know that after these few nerd and I still last-minute things) laugh in their weeks of stress and self imploding are over you can glorious sleeps filled with dreams that don’t revolve around APA. They know that they walked the path of start chillin’ like a villain. At least until next semester righteousness and are now being rewarded for their by which time we will have forgotten all about the lessons we learnt from this semester and begin the hard work and dedication. We should learn from their ways but never do. procrastination process once more.

The question I have is why? Why do we put ourselves through this stress? Through sleepless P.S. This article is my own form of procrastination and nights and constant consumption of V’s (and possibly writing it entirely on my iPod was both a challenge and a brilliant distraction from my essay. double downs) we actively destroy our health. We miss weeks of episodes of our favourite soaps and the spinoffs of our favourite reality shows. And what’s it P.P.S Dear Essay, I will kill you ‘til you are dead, all for? A piece of paper. A simple piece of paper. This my nemesis. Your lack of words both offends and simple piece of paper is our future; we know if we get mocks me. I shall smite you with pen, keyboard and that piece of paper we are destined to free ourselves brainpower. May you die a glorious death, ruiner of men. from the shackles of low paying, menial labour jobs and are now on the fast track in life. After all that’s

16.

issue 13 2011

$1,945.20

$975.41

Apartment

$1,533.84

$743.31

(1 bedroom, outer suburbs)

Loaf of white bread $3.10

$2.16

$9.91 $14.43

$8.31 $10.43

Pack of cigarettes $15.37

$10.49

Transport ticket

$3.56

$2.13

Transport pass

$96.47

$74.48

Taxi

$14.42

$11.06

(500g)

Cheese (1kg) Bottle of wine

The wage gap

While Aussies aren’t working any harder or any longer than us, they’re certainly earning a lot more than us. This is probably the biggest draw for young Kiwi graduates fresh out of university with fat student loans.

The wage gap between New Zealand and Australia is a whopping 30 per cent. That’s right; they earn 30 per cent more than us for doing the exact same things. It seems ludicrous, it seems unfair, but yet, it’s tempting as hell. When all that stands between you and a fatter wad of cash is a job offer and a plane ticket, it’s no wonder so many of us are making the move. With no need for visas or permits, it’s as easy as relocating from the North Island to the South.

And what’s even more frustrating for New Zealand graduates is that the government has been trying to endorse the country’s low wage policy.

The aim was for big Australian companies – who already have major labour forces in New Zealand – to take advantage of our lower wages and increase their presence here, thereby increasing job opportunities.

However, Mike Raffert, research analyst at Sydney University, says that this is a plan likely to fail.

“You’ve got to remember that they are looking for a pool of multi-skilled workers, therefore I don’t think wages will be a big, big attraction.”

Rafferty went on to explain how our low wage stance is only going to deter our own graduates and www.ausm.org.nz

(mid-range)

ambitious people from working locally.

“The message they are sending to them is that if they want good wages, go somewhere else.”

This “somewhere else” has meant the sun kissed shores of Aussie for many of our graduates – and the move is likely to have paid off.

The media monthly disposable salary (after tax) is $5,185 in Australia and only $3,018 here in New Zealand. And graduate salaries in Australia have risen too, reaching an average of $51,750 AUD. When you look at the figures – it’s a no brainer.

NZ

Apartment

(1 bedroom, city centre)

by Alisha Lewis From Pharlap to Split Enz, Australia has a history of stealing what’s rightfully ours. They’re constantly poaching our best ideas, our most creative inventions and our top talent. Whether it’s pavlova or Crowded House, they’ve wasted no time in shamelessly claiming the credit.

So what’s the latest theft? They have been stealing graduates.

Only this time, I don’t know how much blame we can lay on our across-the-ditch cuzzies because it seems our grads are actually leaving willingly – enthusiastically even.

New Zealand has the highest percentage in the world of local graduates who live and work overseas. In January 2010, over 168,000 New Zealand graduates were working abroad – that’s more than the population of Hamilton. 24.2 per cent of New Zealand-born and educated graduates are currently working overseas. That compares with Australia’s total of just three per cent.

And to rub salt in the wound, the bulk of our graduates aren’t flocking to far and wide destinations; they’re skipping across the ditch to our neighbour and ultimate nemesis. What’s happening here? Why are we losing our best and brightest to a bunch of boomerang throwing, thong wearing, Vegemite eating twits?

There are actually some pretty solid reasons. In the end is it worth it though? Here are some of the factors worth considering.

OZ

(Marlboro) (One-way) (Monthly)

(5km within city)

Electricity/gas/water $170.88 (monthly)

Internet (monthly)

$50.55

Pair of Levi jeans $95.40 Pair of Nike shoes $138.18

$152.71 $44.34 $80.74 $118.67

Also, while Australia might be doing better than us in general, we’re still doing a lot better In the current economic climate, this is a pretty than the rest of the world. New Zealand and important factor. Australia simply has more jobs Australia cities were both ranked high on the on offer while New Zealand is struggling with latest Mercer Quality of Living survey – with unemployment. Putting it simply, Australia is Auckland in fourth place, placing above the offering a kind of all-you-can-eat employment high ranking Australian cities: Sydney buffet and our graduates are hungry. and Melbourne.

In 2009, The Times reporter Martin Birchall Auckland is easily also the cheapest city of looked into Australia’s rising tide of employment the three by a fairly big margin. It ranked a lot opportunities, saying people could “do worse than lower than the other two cities in Mercer’s cost think about a move to Australia”. of living survey, and is cheaper in most things Birchall discussed an Australia Association of when compared to the two Australian cities.

Graduate Employers (AAGE) study of 200 large The great combination of scoring the best in Australia employers which confirmed that there both quality of living and cost of living make it a were more vacancies for university leavers in 12 really solid choice for those wanting to live and out of 14 key industries and business sectors, and work in the Oceanic region. that there were skills shortages in a number of areas.

“The past six years have seen a real boom in vacancies and the opportunities for graduates,” This is a pretty big deal for most new grads that said Ben Reeves, AAGE’s chief executive. are done with formal education at long last and According to AAGE, the number of graduate vacancies in Australia has grown by between nine ready to start finally living their lives. Receiving that degree is supposed to be your key to the and 16 per cent annually since 2002 and in many rest of the world; to unlock endless possibilities. sectors, recruitment has more than doubled. It Life is supposed to get bigger and bolder and seems Aussie graduates have it pretty good and better. But when you’ve spent the last few years for our own grads, many of whom are struggling studying in some of the country’s main cities, to find positions of any kind, it generally makes it simply doesn’t get much bigger here in New sense to try to jump on Australia’s bandwagon – Zealand. especially since graduate unemployment there We don’t have a New York or London or has been virtually non-existent.

Tokyo equivalent. In fact, comparing our largest It’s a reasonably safe gamble for Kiwi graduates city with those simply makes Auckland look who simply cannot afford to take risks in the like a senior citizens’ village. Everything shuts current economic climate. by 5pm and there are only so many shops/ restaurants/clubs because there are only so many people. So for graduates looking for fresh starts and fresh opportunities, the closest big They’re making more money sure, but are they cities are in Australia. It’s not too daunting a living better lives? Not necessarily. Things move, because it’s so close, but it does provide a (accommodation, clothing, food etc.) are actually big change. It’s easy to see the appeal. a lot more expensive in Australia. So while people But before you start booking a seat on may be earning more over there, they do have to the next Qantas plane out of here, it’s still end up shelling out more for all the basics as well worth considering sticking around. Sure, – or simply limiting their quality of life in some Australia offers great job possibilities and more way by going out less, living further away from excitement, there’s definitely a lot to gain. But the city etc. there’s also a fair bit to lose. If you leave you’re Here are some quick comparisons of the cost of probably going have to sacrifice the laid back living in Australia versus the cost of living in lifestyle with and high standard of living. It New Zealand: doesn’t get much better than this.

More jobs

The excitement factor

Standard of living

17.

In the coming weeks, Cut Copy will embark on a trans-continental leg of their tour which will see them go from America to Europe, back to America and then Europe in the space of nine days. They’ve also got tour dates set up in Chile, Baltimore, Zurich and Quebec (just to name a few).

They’ve made it into Russia (just) and in April they crossed renowned music festival Coachella off their musical bucket list. They didn’t get to stay and enjoy the likes of Arcade Fire, Animal Collective or Kanye West though – they left the day after to perform yet another show. New Zealand fans were lucky they got not one, but three, sold out shows by the Melbourne lads last month – a week later they were in South America playing to crowds in Mexico.

Despite the daunting schedule, these well-dressed lads are taking it in their stride. When I meet guitarist Tim Hoey and drummer Mitchell Scott for the first time, Tim is marvelling over how our spaceman candy used to look like cigarettes while Mitchell is calmly eating lunch on the couch.

Never mind that 12 hours prior, they were onstage performing songs from their third album, Zonoscope. The trick is not to think about a year of solid touring all at once, Mitchell reckons. “When you are doing a solid year of touring, then there’s no point thinking about it, so you just worry about what you’re doing daily or weekly or whatever.” I chat to them about the supposed ambiguity that surrounds their new album, the iTunes shuffle generation, the disappointment of albums leaking online and how raspberry soda perfectly describes their sound.

by Samantha McQueen

18.

issue 13 2011

You guys have been very ambiguous about the meaning of Zonoscope. Is this to maintain an element of mystery or is it because it’s so hard to define?

Mitchell: I don’t know if there’s a mystery.

With this record I guess there was something of a concept to the record and the name of the record. As we started writing the songs there seemed to be allusions to something worldly or another place and that became a theme sort of running through the record.

It almost seemed to us the record was a soundtrack for another place, for another world, something like that. Then we came up with Zonoscope as something that you could think of as a lens or apparatus that you could view this world and that’s the kind of overly conceptual side to what it is. We wanted a name for the record that didn’t exist, that was sort of invented for this record so it was something sort of new and not leveraging off something pre-existing.

The whole recording is completely different too, because rather than going to an established recording studio you guys kind of built one in a warehouse – why did you opt to record there?

Mitchell: We wanted to create something different; we wanted to make a record that wasn’t like something we’d made before and one of the ways to do that was to approach recording in a way that was different to what we’ve done before. That was our idea with the record really, to create a lot of space that was comfortable and then see what would come out of it.

The album seems to have this worldly, dreamlike, ethereal feel to it and I read that Dan once said that writing songs is like daydreaming; do these feelings and approaches transfer over to the recording process?

Tim: I think every song’s quite different; it’s not like we’ve nailed the formula of working yet. I think that’s kind of the idea to keep it quite spontaneous as well. I think having the space allowed us to experiment more and spend more time together as a unit as opposed to it being broken up into individual studios that we have ourselves. This process was a very liberating one, not being in an expensive studio and that kind of time pressure.

Sun God was a track that first stuck out at me, because I thought there was a typo in the length of it; so how does one decide on closing out an album with a 15 minute song?

Tim: I guess the whole idea of the record was kind of being taken away to this other place and that very kind of euphoric feeling. [We were] kind of referencing that early 90s acid house, very hedonistic, euphoric sensation.

I guess the whole album was about that but Sun God really encapsulates that in one song; where time kind of becomes irrelevant and you listen to it and you kind of get stuck in the moment listening to a song, which is really tough these days because people’s iTunes libraries, you’re constantly searching

for the next song. We wanted to react against that a bit, and it is like that with even our records, because we like it to be a whole album that’s joined together, even though it’s like the complete opposite of what you should be doing.

That’s what you always want to be doing, right? Because nowadays half of an artist’s budget is spent on one song.

Mitchell: That sort of frustrates us a little bit in that we kind of like the idea of making albums but also, I know, there’s so much work in singles, that a single has to be lifted from the album, but we never really feel like any one song represents the record too well, so it’s kind of tough. You don’t always get what you want, but I’d much rather people would take the time to listen to a record and I do find it hard to pick out one song that gives a good representation of what the album’s about.

This is a question I always ask every musician: what is the first album you guys can remember owning?

Tim: Mine was INXS’s Kick.

Mitchell: The first one I remember, my brother bought The Neverending Story soundtrack, but the first one that I actually bought myself was Bros.

Zonoscope leaked online a few weeks before it was officially released; what are your thoughts on the internet being the new hub for music?

Tim: It’s a bit of a double edged sword. It’s really helped us gain an audience overseas and it’s kind of taken our music to places we thought we’d never get to go…

Like Russia…

Tim: Yeah, Russia, Mexico, South American cities and countries. It’s kind of tough, because there’s this very disposable aspect of it; you download something, whether you pay for it or do it for free, it still goes into that iTunes library, and there’s no way … I never take the time to listen to it if I have it in my iTunes library, but if I actually have a record I will actually have to put it on and physically do that and take the time to listen to it. We were told that it’s going to leak…

I just don’t know what pleasure somebody gets out of leaking a record. We would have loved to have been able to present it the way we wanted to ourselves, and not this kind of file online. We wanted the artwork to come along with it and everything and you know, making sure it was a good quality version of the album. So often it’s just bad, ripped mp3s.

Mitchell: I don’t think we have any negative feelings towards anyone who downloads music or pirates music, but I think for somebody to actually take a CD from a pressing plant – it was a reviewer I think…

Tim: We know the person who did it.

Mitchell: …and to leak it online, that’s a fairly cheap shot.

It says something about the industry how they said it’s a matter of when.

Mitchell: Exactly. I think with the internet and stuff, it used to be I guess, for a band from Australia – very far away from everywhere else in the world – to be able to tour a place you probably first had to have a song on radio, and have a promoter there who is willing to put up a lot of money to get you over there, which they wouldn’t do unless you had a record label putting out your stuff. Whereas these days, one of the benefits is, as soon as your music’s online, you can have a fan base in a country and you can get yourself over there. You don’t need the support of radio, you don’t need any hit single or to be played on TV and that’s been a real advantage for us. I guess the negative of it is, if we were 20 years ago and touring these places we probably would be selling a million records, so that’s the downside of it.

What was the decision behind doing a full year of touring?

Mitchell: We’ve done a lot of touring in the past… but previously we’ve had our record come out in like a staggered release around the world so we’d start touring in one country six months after we started another so our touring used to take a couple of years. This time we wanted to condense it down so we could get back to making a new record, because that’s something we’re really passionate about.

Have you guys been brainstorming on tour?

Tim: Touring, there’s no time for anything but shows… but we’re always buying records and watching bands and buying gear when we’re on tour so we’re constantly absorbing stuff. But it’s not like we would ever sit down and go “ok, we could maybe start this record while we’re in the midst of this tour”.

Final question: I’ve got four lines from four different reviews and you have to decide which you think best describes Zonoscope? a) While songs like Need You Now would sound totally at home on The Breakfast Club soundtrack and Pharaohs and Pyramids sounds like something you would hear being banged out in the Hacienda at 4 in the morning, Cut Copy have still managed to put out yet another fresh and exciting album. b) Cut Copy thrives when the ingredients are simple: melody, voice and its influences interpreted. c) Sometimes the sound that Cut Copy cultivates is as fruity and fizzy as a raspberry soda, but with an underpinning of something chilly and unsettled. d) Zonoscope glimmers with a certain sonic presence that sort of showers the ears in idyllic ecstasy – so much, that you’ll probably catch yourself looking down to make sure your feet are still on the ground.

Tim: The last one sounds good, because I guess there was the whole idea of being taken away to another place so I guess that’s certainly a part of it.

Mitchell: What about the raspberry soda?

Tim: Yeah, Jesus Christ.

Mitchell: It’s hard to go past the raspberry soda.

Tim: Everyone likes raspberry soda.

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by Ximena Smith

Paper or plastic? The answer to this question may seem obvious – at least, it was to me when I made a new years resolution this year to not accept any plastic bags in 2011.

All was going well for the first few months, as I nobly declined plastic bags and graciously accepted paper ones, as paper bags were recyclable, right? And if I recycled these paper bags then I was being environmentally aware, right?

I had happily conformed to this belief – up until recently that is. I received a paper bag that would have been placed into the recycling bin like the rest of my paper bags, until I noticed a message on the inside of the bag. This message simply directed me to remove the material handles before recycling, as otherwise it would end up in a landfill. This seemingly straight-forward message actually came as quite a shock to me, as it made me realise that my recycling knowledge was really quite limited, and that maybe my virtuous ‘paper-over-plastic’ efforts weren’t quite as saint-like as I had hoped.

A reassessment of my recycling values was needed, and this could only be done through further research. I needed to find out the true environmental benefits of these deceptive paper bags.

My findings provided me with another large dosage of shock; if the majority of society’s beliefs about recycling were as naïve as mine previously were, then we are all in a bit of trouble. I discovered that not only was the energy requirement for paper bag production four times the amount than that of plastic bag production, but also paper bag production emits 80 per cent more greenhouse gases.

This seems rather ironic, if we consider the fact that trees are both a large absorber of greenhouse gases but also the main ingredient in the production of paper. Furthermore, the recycling process of paper requires a large amount of energy, almost as much as required to produce the bags in the first place, and plastic labels or stickers on the bag can make the process much more difficult.

However plastic bags have their own set of problems. As we all know, they are a major contributor to litter around public places, and they also are a big hazard to our countries wildlife, as some birds and other creatures can mistake it for food. Plastic bags also have a very slow degradation process, estimated to be 500-1000 years in a landfill, and they are also unable to be recycled with other plastics through the council kerbside collection, as they can clog the recycling factories’ machinery.

But what about biodegradable plastic bags? Surely they are the solution to this paper-plastic conundrum? Sadly, biodegradable plastic bags are not as green as they sound. They need specific conditions to biodegrade, such as the right amount of exposure to sunlight and oxygen, and also the right temperature. When the bags are eventually broken down, sometimes they can leave plastic residues or wastes that cannot further degrade.

So what really is the answer to this difficult quandary? Do we just continue accepting the bags offered to us at supermarkets and stores, hoping that one day an intelligent person will come and give us all bags that are made more efficiently and eco-friendly? Oh wait, that’s

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already happened, with Anya Hindmarch’s popular invention of the ‘I am not a Plastic Bag’ canvas tote bag.

Also many supermarkets now provide reusable shopping bags for a small cost and you can alternatively buy bags that can be compressed and folded down into a small size, such as polyester EnviroSax, which are great to carry in a handbag whilst shopping. However, if you have a collection of plastic bags at home waiting to be collected on the next rubbish day, then try to use them a second time before they are thrown into a landfill. The Auckland Council website suggests good second-time uses of plastic bags include using one as a wet umbrella cover that keeps the rest of the contents of your bag dry, or alternatively using a bag to wrap your shoes inside whilst packing luggage, to keep the rest of your clothes clean.

Another way that you can help reduce our country’s bag consumption is to be more aware if you are a parttime shop assistant. If a customer already has a collection of half-full shopping bags, perhaps consider asking them if they need a bag, instead of automatically wrapping it up and putting it into yet another bag that they will inevitably throw away.

So New Year’s resolution 2012? I’m working on it as I carry around my canvas tote; maybe you should too so future generations don’t live on top of this week’s disposed plastic shopping bags.

issue 13 2011

When I heard that Marvel Entertainment was making a movie for Thor I thought, “Thor?... really? THOR?” and all I could imagine was the Versatile Garage guy. I’ve read some Marvel comics before that includes Thor as an extra character only and I never really liked him; he was always too serious in the ones I’ve read. I’ve only ever read one actual Thor comic from the 1990s and I could barely understand anything the Asgardians were saying with their “Thou dost” and what not. So I skipped some pages and found a fight scene between Thor and Loki and there was one line that made me want to fall in love with the villain (don’t take that to heart). That’s when I realised Loki will be in the movie too and that’s when I became eager to see what director Kenneth Branagh had in store for us. But as I tried to get rid of the image of the Versatile Garage guy another thought hit me: “What about their costumes?”

by Page Orwell

THOR

They excelled in creating the traditional red cape and winged helmet for Thor (and the beard too). I have to admit I was incredibly worried that they were going to give Thor little feathery wings on his helmet, but fear not! They didn’t. Instead they replaced the feathers with the same metallic material they used for his silver armour.

Chris Hemsworth is the new guy on set acting as the arrogant Thor. He is an unknown actor (but those of you Star Trek fans out there might know him as Captain Kirk Sr. who died in the opening sequence of the 2009 film). Personally, I liked the idea of an unknown actor playing the role of a very well known and loved Marvel hero. He played Thor’s transition from arrogance to humility quite well and used the mystical hammer Mjölnir skillfully (although I would like to see more lightning when he returns in The Avengers). Stan Lee said about the creation of Thor: “I thought it would be fun to invent someone as powerful as, or perhaps even more powerful than, the Incredible Hulk. But how do you make someone stronger than the strongest human? It finally came to me: Don’t make him human — make him a god.”

But the movie didn’t just show the birth of a hero; it also showed the birth of a villain, his archenemy, Loki.

LOKI

I thought I was going to faint from anticipation just waiting for him to be on screen. They toned down the traditional Viking’s ‘great big bull horns’ on Loki’s helmet settling for a more subtle and graceful way of saying “Lookie here, I’m the bad guy!” I was worried how they would make the green and gold colour scheme work out for Loki in the film, but I was relieved that they had given him a green cape and golden chest plate that is fitting for this God of Mischief.

The detail on each Asgardian’s outfit was flawless right down to the intensity of their eyes. They say the eyes are the window to the soul and that a good liar will lie with their eyes to protect their soul to the end; and Loki is a very, very good liar. Throughout the film, Tom Hiddleston‘s performance was just perfect for Marvel’s version of the God of Mischief. His intentions are never clear earning him the number eight spot in Marvel’s best villains. In the film, Hiddleston portrays him with all these conflicting emotions and you could never tell when he was lying.

ODIN

I didn’t realise that Odin was actually Anthony Hopkins (shame on me, I know) because I just didn’t recognise him with the beard and the eye patch. He looked like such a nice guy in the movie that the previous image of him as Hannibal Lector didn’t register in my feeble brain. They even included his ravens and almost perfected his great white beard that Thor often mentions in the comics.

LADY SIF AND THE WARRIORS

Although their costumes have changed throughout the years, they still stuck with each character’s colour scheme and recognisable characteristics.

Sif’s ‘hotness’, Hogun’s grimness, Volstagg’s gluttony and Fandral’s funny looking moustache.

Left to right: Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg

(Height) Trivia

These ‘gods’ when put beside mere mortals such as us, will make us so much more miniscule with their gigantic height and muscular build; and there’s no CG enhancements on them either.

Thor Chris Hemsworth Loki Tom Hiddleston Odin Anthony Hopkins Sif Jaimie Alexander Volstagg Ray Stevenson Hogun Tadanobu Asano Fandral Josh Dallas

6’ 3” (1.91 m) 6’ 1½” (1.87 m) 5’ 8” (1.74 m) 5’ 9” (1.75 m) 6’ 4” (1.93 m) 5’ 10½” (1.79m) 6’ 1” (1.85 m)

Future Marvel films to look forward to: X-Men First Class (out now) Captain America (July 2011) Boy, do I have a lot to say about these two already, but I’ll just wait until I see them myself and I’ll report back to you…

And by Odin’s beard, it shall be done! www.ausm.org.nz

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by Alisha Lewis

Growing up, many children have imaginary friends. I had Harry.

I was almost nine when I got my first Harry Potter book. My mum received a free copy of it at work and since I liked reading, she gave it to me.

At the time, my reading repertoire extended mainly to Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and The Babysitters Club series. I was also at that age where you tend to judge books by their covers so Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, with its dull front cover illustrations and confusing title, didn’t interest me much.

The book sat unwrinkled, unstained and unread at the bottom of my bookshelf, somewhere next to the pile of children’s encyclopaedias and world atlases.

Some months later though, when I’d decided that reading Claudia and the Bad Joke for the 50th time might be a little excessive, I decided to give the scrawny, bespectacled boy a chance.

That was the first time I finished a novel in one day.

From the first chapter, I was drawn in to a world where every kid’s fantasy was brought to life: magic was real.

Even though I had encountered magical worlds in books like The Magic Faraway Tree, The Chronicles of Narnia, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, for some reason none of it was as believable, as tangible – as real – as the world created by Joanne Kathleen Rowling, a struggling single mother with a one-in-a-billion idea.

From Hagrid and his suspect pink umbrella, to post-delivering owls, to Platform 9 3/4, to

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Gringotts Bank, to Ron Weasley and his corn beef sandwiches and, of course, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it was almost too much magic for my nine-year-old self to take in.

Harry Potter captivated my imagination like no other book had – and probably ever will.

For the next three years I devoured each page of the first four novels. They were soon dog eared, smudged with chocolate and watermarked from the number of times they’d almost been dropped in the bath.

The third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, quickly became my favourite.

And so, I grew up with Harry. I made friends with Ron and Hermione. I hated Snape, had a soft spot for Hagrid and adored Sirius. I fell in love with Dobby the house elf.

And when the first couple of movies came out, I had a pre-teen crush on Daniel Radcliffe.

When my 11th birthday came and went with no sign of an owl bearing a sealed envelope inviting me to attend Hogwarts, I was even a little disappointed.

It didn’t matter too much though, because I still had the books. The magic was still there.

However, once I’d ripped my way through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth book, I found myself facing an agonising three year wait until the fifth came out.

It was three years of re-reading and imagining and re-reading some more. In those three years I started to write – my imagination fuelled by each trip to Diagon Alley, each dementor encounter and every game of quidditch.

In those three years I also grew up. I moved on to other books and fell in love with other characters along the way: Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice and Louisa May Alcott’s portrayal of Jo in Little Women.

But I always ended up coming back to Harry; it was the ultimate escapism, perhaps due to the simple fact that to really enjoy it, you truly had to believe it. It encouraged readers to give themselves up to a willing suspension of disbelief. It helped adults hold on to the magic you believe in so freely when you’re a child, without feeling stupid.

And when the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, finally came out in 2003, a more grown up me met a more grown up Harry. Thus, we entered the world of teen angst together.

Through the fifth, sixth and seventh books we made it through teenage tantrums, door slamming, awkward first dates and first relationships. We battled death eaters, lost loved ones and at last, conquered evil.

Times got darker and the content got more mature – as did the bulk of J.K Rowling’s readers.

A generation grew up with Harry Potter.

We bought the books, we lined up outside bookstores and we watched midnight movie screenings.

While the movies weren’t exactly Oscarworthy, they still brought the pages to life, and that’s what mattered.

It didn’t matter if Daniel Radcliffe stopped growing once he reached 14, if Emma Watson mainly acted with her eyebrows or if all Rupert Grint ever said was “bloody hell, Harry”. They were still Harry, Hermione and Ron and for that, the world loved them.

Acclaimed actors like Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) and Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) also made the magic more real with character portrayals that rivalled everything we’d imagined in our heads already.

Now, 14 years, seven books and seven movies later, the world is currently preparing for the release of the eighth and final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, on June 14.

The last movie will mark the end of an era and the coming of age not just for the characters who have grown up during the series, but also for the readers who have grown up alongside them.

With the films drawing to an end, actor Alan Rickman wrote an open letter to J.K. Rowling, expressing a sentiment echoed by millions around the world - gratitude.

“It is an ancient need to be told stories. But the story needs a great storyteller. Thanks for all of it, Jo.”

issue 13 2011

1. Goose and Maverick (Top Gun) are two of the most well-known movie nicknames ever. What is Goose’s real name? a) Nick Bradshaw b) Rick Bradshaw c) Nick Rossovich d) Michael Scott 2. What university did Forrest Gump attend? a) University of Alabama b) University of North Carolina c) University of Georgia d) University of Texas 3. What is the only horror film to ever win a best picture Oscar?

4. How many Nicholas Sparks’ novels have been released as films at the time of print? a) 5 b) 6 c) 7 d) 8 5. Andy Defresne has three different posters of women during his time in prison in The Shawshank Redemption.

What three women were they? a) Rita Hayworth, Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe

b) Rita Hayworth, Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida c) Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe, Raquel Welch d) Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot

6. How many rules are there in Fight Club?

7. What was the highest grossing film of 1998? a) Titanic b) Armageddon c) There’s Something About Mary d) Saving Private Ryan 8. Viewers learn Big’s real name in the first Sex and the City movie? What was it?

9. What was the name – given by cast and crew – of the shark in Jaws? a) Wayne b) Bruce c) Craig d) Bill 10. How many times is the F word said in Pulp Fiction? a) 234 b) 248 c) 265 d) 287

WORDFIND

by Ashleigh Muir Your lecturers will be killing me for writing this, but what better way to procrastinate myself, than to write about procrastination.

Procrastibake: This one is so common it has its own name! I always find myself in the mood for baking bread whenever exam time rolls around. Of course, bread just happens to be something that literally takes hours to make, especially without a bread maker. Easiest way to kill a couple of hours, with a tasty treat at the end of it!

Become a Tetris master: Tetris has got to be one of the most addictive online games out there. Sign up to one of the many Tetris websites and see how far you can get. There are many different versions of Tetris, so if you start to feel your mind wander, challenge yourself to Battle 5player or Sprint. I assure you exams will not cross your mind for days.

Clean your room: It is far easier to study if you have a clean and organised space in which to do it. Sort out that pile of books, notes, random scrapes of paper and email addresses of goodness-knows-who. The tidier and more organised your room and study material, the easier it will be to study.

Write a to-do list: Write a highly detailed list of what needs to be done, with each task broken down into smaller tasks. For example, learn definition of (insert theory here). Learn theorist name. Learn research carried out by (insert theorist name here). This way, when you actually get around to studying, you can cross lots of things off!

Check Facebook: It is important that you check up on all your friends, any new friends your friends have befriended in the last month and any potential love interests around exam time. It is your job as a friend to make sure these people are good people. Make sure you check their general information, their friends and photos if you can.

Paint your nails: They look so pretty when they are painted. But to be sure you don’t ruin them, make sure you spend the next two hours on the couch watching Harry Potter. After all, if you smudge one you will have to start them all over again and that would just be a waste of time.

Write for debate: Unleash your creative genius and start writing for debate. Write about anything and everything, so when next semester rolls around you can email one or two in each week and become famous. Then you can quit uni, take a couple of years to write a book and then live on the royalties.

www.ausm.org.nz

cram allnighter pens notes

flashcards procrastination

ANSWERS (OBSCURE MOVICE QUIZ): 1. A, 2. A, 3. The Silence of the Lambs, 4. B, 5. C, 6. Eight, 7. D, 8. John James Preston, 9. B, 10. C.

References Study exams break

Create a YouTube video on how best to procrastinate: Never mind the many hundreds of videos that have already been posted as to how best to complete this, yours will be infinitely better due to the far superior practice you have completed before making your video.

Once you are an expert of procrastination, it is time to get filming. But remember to make sure your video stands out in the ever increasing world of YouTube.

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23.

Brendan the Foreteller: Stealing Horoscope Ideas Since 2011

by Brendan Kelly It has come to my attention that people actually read this magazine. It serves as more than just a modest bin liner, or a brightly decorated beer mat. People devour these crispy fresh pages with gusto, gorging their literary stomachs on this buffet of words, ideas and long winded metaphors. And so now, more than ever, the guidance of the stars is necessary. How would you people survive without the ambient light cast by the street lamps of the heavens, freshly interpreted by a fully qualified human person? Would you live your lives in ignorance, unaware of the divine plan of the universe, or that you will be sneezed on by a walrus this week? I think not, dear readers. So I’ve done my part, churned out the same old shit, chucked iTunes on shuffle and made it up.

Virgo: Metallica – Leper Messiah

Aquarius: The Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Strip My Mind

You will be transferred to a ward for the criminally insane. After rebelling against the tyrannical staff, you will make friends with an enormous Native American behemoth. He will be offended by a culturally insensitive comment and throw a large object out a window, running away from captivity and into the bright new dawn. You will have your brain removed. Your lucky offence is copyright infringement.

Pisces: Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood

You will become an unbelievably badass old cowboy guy. You will win several Academy Awards and live to the age of 712.

Your lucky hobbit is Momo.

Aries: Papa Roach – Had Enough

The end of semester work load is finally getting to you. After failing an essay about Lebanese fighting fish, you will snap. In the ensuing rampage, you will kill three of your classmates with a biro. You will leave town, and then open a badger sanctuary.

Your lucky disease is scrofula.

Taurus: Willie Nelson – Everything’s Beautiful (In Its Own Way) You will befriend a gleeful hunchback. He will drool in your handbag. Help him ring bells.

Lucky number: 7.4

Gemini: Rush - Beneath, Between and Behind

Wild, wild sex. Either that or you will go on a treasure hunt. The prize will be gummi bears. Your lucky mineral is antitaenite.

Cancer: Chris Isaak – Graduation Day

You will go to university with a spring in your step, working towards a qualification and a brighter future. At last, graduation day is on the horizon. As the big day gets closer, you will relish every moment, smiling at all you see and whistling whimsical tunes in the warm sunlight. A week before the ceremony, a classmate will stab you in the face with a biro. On the plus side, your lucky colour happens to be red.

Leo: Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Pocahontas

You will offend a Native American. How? Hah. Make it up to him by presenting him with a small parcel of candied yams. Your lucky animal is a black and white striped spider named Willard.

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A bearded man will accost you on the train. He will violate your ears with a philosophical lecture, extolling the virtues of enlightenment. He will vomit on your shoe and give you the finger. Pocket it for good fortune. Your lucky root vegetable is the radish.

Libra: Serj Tankian – Sky is Over

You will die in the apocalypse, which is scheduled to occur every two weeks for the foreseeable future.

The Devil will join your bowling team. Your lucky invertebrate is a snail crawling along the edge of a straight razor.

Scorpio: The Streets – Turn the Page

Sagittarius: The Pixies – Broken Face

An episode of Shortland Street will cause you to fly into a furious rage. You will bellow obscenities into the endless abyss of life, taking a stand by smashing a clock on your face as a symbolic representation of your existential dread. Your lucky food is a banana wrapped in a pancake.

Capricorn: Six60 – Don’t Forget Your Roots

You need to cut down on the drunken one night stands. Also, remember to water your plants.

Their leafy goodness is ice cream for the soul. Your lucky historical figure is Kyle Khan, the lesser known younger brother of Genghis.

You will read a student magazine, which will contain at least one excellent article. Your lucky page number is 24.

“If the stars should appear but one night in every thousand years, how man would marvel and stare.” − Ralph Waldo Emerson on this magazine being published every week “Ye stars! Which are the poetry of heaven!” − Lord Byron on the distinct lack of rhyme in this article

And so, dear friends, concludes another week of prophecy. My crystal ball grows cloudy; I can see no further. However, I’m sure this gift, bestowed upon me by the stars themselves, will stay with me through to next semester. So look forward to more predictions of torture, tribulations and tequila. We’ll have some laughs, and maybe even shed a few tears. Probably not though.

issue 13 2011

by Jess Etheridge The above line was spoken by a character called Amelia Earheart in Night at the Museum 2 and I have two issues with this movie. First, I keep calling it “Nightmare at the Museum” which would involve Freddy Krueger chasing me through Auckland Museum. Secondly, I like this film way too much, considering my age. But I thought the quote would be appropriate for this week’s column, in the final issue of debate for this semester.

What Amelia Earheart said is true (yes I am turning a quote from a kids movie into something that relates to 20-somethings and older).

Too often we’re told our dreams are unattainable and unrealistic and we shouldn’t get our hopes up. New Zealanders suffer from acute Tall Poppy Syndrome and we’re constantly tearing each other down.

The job of a writer is to critique and comment on how things could be better or how bad things are. However, in everyday life we, as a country, need to learn to boost each other up. We need to give each other confidence in completing our tasks and becoming better people.

And often in this column I have said many things have been terrible, atrocious, all kinds of wrong, and some things have been fantastic and enriching. But in the end, we all exist to hopefully make life better in some way. Annabel Fay thinks her music makes society better when a large majority of people just think it is codswollop (can you tell what I think?).

Whatever you’re studying or doing in life, as long as you love it and you’re passionate about it, what people say about it and you doesn’t matter. It’s a tough lesson we all have to learn, usually the hard way. Whether it’s in response to an article you post online or have published in the paper, a movie you release, a fashion line you create, a business you run, research you publish, we all face the haters aka trolls of life, just looking to pull people down to make themselves feel better.

But you move on and keep on keeping on. Just like you do at university. Adventure calls and you want to be a part of it. You just have to get to the end.

To those in their first year of university at AUT who have almost completed their first semester, I say, “Congratulations, you’ve made it”; I don’t welcome you to The Crusader because I’m not Scribe.

You’ve got a long way to go but it’s worth it in the end. Second, third, fourth (and beyond) year students: Same old, same old, but you’re that much closer to graduation day.

Maybe you’re wondering why I’ve suddenly taken a soft stance with you lot. Well for me... graduation is here! So, this is my final column for debate magazine. Which is really weird to write/say. It ends a long and lovely writing relationship with the magazine since 2008 and trust me I am truly going to miss it.

If you’ve ever considered contacting debate to say “hey I’d like to give the writing thing a go” but something’s held you back, then I say screw it. Go for it. Take the plunge, because it’ll open you up to so many different ideas and opportunities (it also looks great on your CV).

I can’t think of any other pretentious or inspirational things I can write to you but I will say thanks for reading, if you have. If you feel you’ll miss me - which I highly doubt - feel free to follow me on Twitter: @JessEtheridge. My last shameless plug.

by Ashleigh Muir I thought this week I would take a slightly different approach.

As some of you may well be aware, cooking is one of my other favourite pastimes. About a year ago I realised that when I move out, I will be leaving behind a vast quantity of cookbooks collected by my mother. While I do have quite a few myself, they don’t come close to comparing with my mother’s collection.

This idea was inspired by one of my friend’s mothers actually. She decided to start writing down some of her family’s favourite meals. They were meals she could make off the top of her head but wanted somewhere to put them.

So I started my own cookbook. Not only did it mean I would have all my family recipes but they were also all in a single book. Gone are the days of searching through a mountain of cookbooks to find that one recipe.

Come up with five or six main categories – baking, main meals, pasta, desserts and other. Keep them broad so you can put different things a single category (cakes and bread in baking). Choose a coloured pen and a black pen. Red and black look very smart together. The colour is for titles, while the black is for everything else. As much as you can, keep your writing the same. Alternatively, type the recipes out, print and stick them in.

These can be very time consuming, writing out recipe after recipe, but they are worth it in the end; especially if you put the time and effort in putting these together as a gift. Add a conversion table and a couple of quotes about cooking; a note from yourself and whatever you do, put a date.

The book itself is entirely up to you. A big, chunky spiral book can be ideal, but a hardback notebook covered with funky duraseal or a ring binder with beautiful card pages and pastel dividers can be equally impressive. It is all up to you and your creative genius. When I made a version for my mum for Christmas, I made dividers in the book by cutting out partial stripes down the right hand side. Time consuming, but it looks amazing!

As cheesy as it sounds, a gift can mean a lot more if there is effort put in, not just money. And as poor students, it is ideal.

P.S Thank you Sam for letting me write for debate. It’s been an awesome year and a half and YES you must publish this haha <3

www.ausm.org.nz

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This Agony Aunt column is brought to you by the team at Health, Counselling and Wellbeing. If you have a question you would like answered email debate@aut.ac.nz and put Agony Aunt as the subject or drop it in to the Health, Counselling and Wellbeing office.

Dear Agony Aunt

I think I might be gay? I have had feelings for other men all my life. I’m really confused.

From X

Hi X,

Most people at some point in their lives will question their sexuality.

It is very common to have doubts or be confused or concerned about whether you might be gay, straight or bisexual (bisexual means attracted to both men and women).

Sexuality as a concept is a lot more fluid than most people realise. You can think of it like a continuum: you can be mostly attracted to girls, but be into guys as well; you can be mostly into guys, whilst finding women attractive as well; or you can be attracted to both men and women equally. You don’t have to consider yourself “gay” or “straight” if you feel that those terms do not describe your sexual identity.

It might be a good idea to talk to a trusted friend, family member or counsellor about how you’re feeling. Health, Counselling & Wellbeing have counsellors who you can talk to for free - either online or in-person - who self-identify as gay, lesbian and bisexual. They have been in your

situation before, and will be able to relate to your confusion and doubt, and talk about it with you.

If you’re not yet ready to talk to someone about how you’re feeling, you might just need some time to yourself to sort things out in your head.

You can ask yourself questions like: am I emotionally attracted to people of the same gender? Am I sexually attracted to the people of the same gender? Am I exclusively attracted to one gender? Do I always feel like this, or do my feelings change?

If you want to meet some other gay, lesbian and bisexual people you can contact the LGBT support group OUT@AUT. They arrange social meetings at different locations at the end of each semester. Sometimes it can help just to have that social contact with other students who have had similar experiences as you.

It’s really important that you talk to someone if you are feeling ‘low’ or depressed at any time, or if your thoughts are impacting on your daily life. You can contact Health, Counselling and Wellbeing on (09) 921 9992 for City campus or (09) 921 9998 for North Shore campus, or drop-in to make an appointment.

Useful contacts Outataut@hotmail.com www.facebook.com/pages/Out-AUT/

by Katie Montgomerie

THIS IS IT! This semester is officially over and after you’ve completed those exams you are all so busy studying for say hello to a long awaited and much deserved break!

The good thing about this break is that there are NO impending assignments to taint your enjoyment of the ski fields/overseas travel/ general laziness! So this week let us celebrate breaks, holidays, vacations, whatever you call them, and of course we can’t do this properly without UrbanDictionary.com.

Let us start with the word that we are all waiting to scream at the top of our lungs when we finish our last exam...

Holiday a. British slang for the word ‘vacation’ b. A time of year in which you’re supposed to sit back and reflect and give thanks and shit like that but actually everyone just gets drunk and eats a lot and spends heaps of money because our society advocates wasting insane amounts of money in order to celebrate.

Example: Well... I really don’t think this needs an example to be honest! But this would probably be a good time to point out that UrbanDictionary.com is largely contributed to by people from the USA, hence the whole “British slang” thing...

HOLIDAY!

Our next word (for all of those lucky people heading overseas this semester break) is...

A certain period during the year which is commemorating a religious event. From ‘Holy day’ ...Although I’m sure this is probably the correct definition I find it a little too boring for UrbanDictionary’s usually high entertainment standards hence...

26.

Vacathon

“My friend Megan is such a lucky cow! She’s going on a Vacathon in the UK during semester break, jealous!”

And finally,

Vacation Amnesia

When you get back from a holiday or break and have absolutely no recollection of anything you studied prior to the break.

Example “Ah crap I’m supposed to be tutoring someone who failed Media Comm last semester and they’re paying me $20 an hour but I have absolutely NO idea what I learnt. Talk about vacation amnesia!”

Good luck for your exams and enjoy your break!

An extended vacation, of at least three weeks in duration that takes place at a location other than your home.

Example

issue 13 2011

Now that’s what I call with Sophie Putze Volume Thirteen

Now Drinking Coffee

With exams just around the corner and the desire some of us have to stay up for all hours, cramming our heads with information (which we’ll subconsciously erase from our heads not long after) it becomes vital! Plus it’s becoming so unbearably cold. Why make yourself colder with a frappe or milkshake when you have can a nice warm latte. It’d just be crazy!

Now Reading

Prescribed Readings

Be damned if you’ve kept up to date with your readings all semester. I envy your self control and maintenance of any temptations that procrastination may have pressed upon you. However, for those of you have not, sign out of Facebook and get reading! Think of the satisfaction you’ll get from seeing a B grade or higher on your exams, and you have all holidays to get back to Facebook procrastinating!

Now Wearing

Multiple Layers

With Auckland’s somewhat bipolar weather it becomes difficult and frustrating to decide whether to wrap up in the morning and face having to lug several of these layers around later in the day or initially freeze and pray that the sun pops its head out later on. Let’s hope June brings more certainty for those of us who are fashionably indecisive – or that it thinks it’s the second coming of summer.

Now Eating

Griffin’s Collusions

There are few student decisions that hit us harder come exam time than which chocolate biscuit to purchase at the supermarket. Griffin’s must have known because they’ve just released Collusions, which is a hybrid of your favourite biscuits. Squiggles or chocolate chips? How about chocolate chips covered in squiggles chocolate and filling? Mint or mallowpuff? The simple solution: mint mallowpuff. The only problem now is which hybrid you want to try first.

If you think you’re on the pulse with what’s happening in Auckland, email debate@aut.ac.nz with your own Suggestions.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Can’t study? Trying to tackle Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

In Russian. While contemplating the beginnings of the universe? Your degree looks pretty easy now, doesn’t it?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Stretch every morning this week, because the stars see a last minute dash to make it to your exam on time.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21)

Time to front up to responsibility; own up to breaking your nana’s favourite cookie jar when you were seven.

You may get cut out of the will, but at least your conscience is clear, right?

CANCER (June 22-July 22)

Your golden image will be tarnished this week after someone leaks sexy photos of you on Facebook. Did I say sexy photos? I meant baby photos. Looks like someone was a chubby bubby.

LEO (July 23-August 22)

Your star sign is the mightiest animal of them all! Do you know what this means? Study break to the zoo!

VIRGO (August 23-September 22)

You seemed to have taken that chocolate break the stars predicted a bit too seriously. It’s called the Freshman 15, not 50. Conduct all study in the gym from now on.

LIBRA (September 23-October 23)

No matter how much you need to study this week, you need to shower more. Don’t say Jupiter didn’t warn you.

SCORPIO (October 24-November 21)

Studying will cost you dearly this week. Who knew readings and online shopping went so well together?

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21)

Like your star sign, you will also delve into hybrids this week.

Just go a bit wilder than mixing breakfast and lunch.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19)

You will get the opportunity of a lifetime this week, but the stars aren’t saying exactly when. Don’t sleep for the next seven days or risk a severe case of FOMO.

AQUARIUS (January 20-Febuary 18)

The stars see an awkward situation involving an elderly woman, party poppers and the wrong use of the term “jungle fever”. Be warned.

PISCES (Febuary 19-March 20)

Whoever said you were nailing those red leather boots you bought last week obviously hates you. Retaliate by hurling said heinous boots at them.

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27.

by Petra Benton

In the fashion world, costume often gets pushed to the back a little. Unnecessarily so, as we all watch films, plays and television and visually what we see is the hard work of many talented individuals who create the images and ideas projected into our lives. Galareh Golbakhsh graduated from AUT Fashion Design specialising in costume in 2007 and has since been working on this very vision. Recently working on the acclaimed Auckland University production of Richard III with sponsorship from Ben Sherman and Andrea Moore, Golbakhsh’s work shows she’s one to watch… both figuratively and on screen. Here she talks about the costume industry and where her work is headed.

Hi Galareh! After graduating from AUT four years ago did you go straight into work?

No, I wanted a break and worked full time at Borders bookstore saving up to move overseas.

I moved to London at the end of 2008 with hopes of getting costume work. Unfortunately I was there in the middle of the recession and after a year of heartbreak from the city I decided to come home with one overseas experience on my C.V. from unpaid work on a play in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I gladly came back home and gave myself a year to just chill out and not be poor and pretty much catch up on the four years of sleep from studying.

It was Andrea Moore who supplied us with the womenswear, Ben Sherman with the menswear and Strangely Normal with the men’s accessories. I came onboard as costume designer about a month before the show so it was an intense pre-production. The director had already got Andrea Moore onboard so my first task was to get someone to sponsor us for the men. Ben Sherman and Strangely Normal came to the rescue after a lot of rejection – it really is the oldest trick in the book, all you have to do is ask. One out of the hundreds of people you ask will say yes. You just have to try and try again and then probably try some more, but it’s worth it.

What made you choose costuming over menswear or womenswear?

I have the typical story of having a passion for clothes ever since I was young and as I got older I realised that I couldn’t sit through a movie without commenting on the clothes. This happened quite often as I worked at the movies so you could say that costuming chose me. The thing with costume is that it isn’t just a piece of clothing. It has a story. I like that aspect.

Once you have signed on to become a part of a project, what process do you go about to create the vision of the director?

It would be a different process for every project but for Richard III firstly – and most importantly – I read the play, taking down notes. Then I talked through every character with the director and got their vision of the whole play as well -time and social context etc.

After that, talk with the actors and learn how they see their characters. Also get all their measurements and sizes. Research everything to the last detail. Remember there’s nothing worse than seeing something historically incorrect or out of place. Someone will notice it, guaranteed!

Draw up sketches or however you would like to visually present your ideas to the director and actors. There is always a budget, therefore keep that in mind all the time. Also allow a little room for cuts. This did happen and I was not happy about it but I learnt to deal with it and worked around it. Problems will always occur that you can’t control but you have to work with them.

Fittings are required early so if anything needs to be changed it can be done within plenty of time. At this time things can be tweaked to fit the actor and character. And just when you think it has stopped, it hasn’t. They’ve added or cut a character or something as simple as this character is now a boy instead of a man can throw you right back in it.

Is costuming your full-time job? If not, what else do you work in and how do you balance the two?

I wish it was my full-time job. I have just started part-time work on Spartacus which is fantastic as it’s a foot in the door and learning from some of the best in the business. It’s completely different to my other job of being a floor manager at Borders bookstore. I love it there as I’m surrounded by stories and inspiration (and insanity) every time. There’s no need to balance as I love both jobs and it’s not really work if you love it. It’s life.

Do you work independently or with a larger company?

At the moment I work independently which is how most people in this industry work. It does depend on what field of costume you get into and what position you want to put yourself into. Most film and television work is independent but some larger theatre shows have their own company. It’s a good idea to have a go at everything so you know exactly what you want. Which is one of the best qualities of this type of job – no project is the same.

For your costuming on Richard III how did you get sponsorship from higher-end designers?

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What current/future projects are you working on?

Right now I have my own site which acts as an online portfolio as well. For the most part it is a blog about costumes in films and television.

I do like to write about clothes therefore

I also read a lot. I think to get a complete understanding of clothes you need to dwell further than the exterior. That’s what I try to portray in my site, www.costumesdontsleep. com I’ve also been working on a book idea that has been two years in the process. It’s still in the early stages but will be an inspiration book, interviewing different people and their creativities in whatever field. The name of it will be This is NOT a Style Book.

Self explanatory really. Hopefully it will be good enough to get published and then this paragraph wont come back to haunt me in the future.

Which NZ or international costume designers you recommend debate readers keep an eye out for?

My favourites are Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland 2010, Public Enemies, That Thing You Do!), John A. Dunn (Boardwalk Empire), Katherine Jane Bryant (Mad Men, Deadwood), Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria, Gangs of New York). Lou Eyrich (Glee) Tom Ford aka GOD. Local costume designers: You can’t beat the greatest that is Ngila Dickson (Lord of the Rings trilogy) Karen Walker for the Royal NZ Ballet, Elizabeth Whiting works on the majority of the operas shown here and is always flawless.

Any tips to AUT students who are interested in getting into costuming?

Research (past, present and future), learn (techniques, terminology, EVERYTHING!) take opportunities (they have a shelf life!) work hard, never give up, eat and sleep in between. Take your work seriously but don’t take yourself seriously and remember to thank those who help you.

issue 13 2011

Solbin Jun Bachlor of Fashion Design (first year) Jumper: Trade Me Trousers: Recycle Boutique Shoes: Chucks

www.ausm.org.nz

jason lingard Bachlor of Fashion Design (second year) Shirt: Trimapee T-shirt: Claude Maus Jeans: Doctor Denim Shoes: Chronicles of Never

29.

Glee

Glee: The Music, Volume 6 Album Review by Jess Etheridge

(A-)

showcasing the best of the group to the back drop of an electropop dance track.

Glee: The Music, Volume 6 features a wide variety of songs but still comes together as a compilation that could stand on its own outside of the television show. However unfortunately, it fails to reach new goals by leaving out talent and replacing it with big names.

The second season is almost over for the Glee kids but the music keeps on rolling in. Volume 6 in the Glee hits collection is an exotic mixture of current top 40 hits, 90s mash-ups, Broadway numbers, a bit of 1970s folk rock as well as some more originals.

Turning Tables – originally by Adele – is the opening track sung by Gwyneth Paltrow as Holly Holiday. The flaky McKinley High substitute teacher sings the ballad to Will Schuester, glee club teacher and Holiday’s boyfriend, in order to break up with him.

Gwyneth doesn’t nail each note as fully and soulfully as Adele does which is a disappointment considering past recording successes.

Sadly the brilliantly moving Ain’t No Way, sung by Amber Riley (Mercedes), doesn’t feature on Volume 6, nor does the Jenna Ushkowitz cover of Lykke Li’s I Follow Rivers. Obviously star power has been chosen over talent in this particular case.

What is debatably the best track off Volume 6 is I Feel Pretty/Unpretty, a mash-up by Lea Michele (Rachel Berry) and Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray). Who knew a West Side Story number would blend so beautifully with a TLC hit? The harmonised hit has been touted as potentially the best Glee mash-up to date and this reviewer tends to agree.

Chris Colfer as the critically-lauded Kurt Hummel sinks his teeth into musical Sunset Boulevard and then joins his fellow Gleeks on Lady Gaga’s Born This Way. The group even tackle music royalty with Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams, Go Your Own Way and Don’t Stop, stamping their unique Glee style on each, making them their own.

The last three songs are all Glee originals, after the success of Loser Like Me on Volume 5. As Long As You’re There is sung during the season two finale by Charice who plays Sunshine Corozon of Vocal Adrenaline. Pretending, a duet between the show’s lead couple Rachel and Finn, is a vocal emotional rollercoaster, matching the on-screen story. Light Up The World is an anthem to rival Loser Like Me,

30.

Album Review by Ben Matthews

The Brothers Size

Live at the Herald Theatre, May 30 Theatre Review by James Wheeler

Foster the People Torches

everything is too manufactured it becomes repetitive. Foster the People have created what could be called an indie and mainstream album, something rarely done. Maybe I should listen to the radio more often.

(A-)

I don’t usually listen to the radio, especially mainstream stuff, but as the CD player was broken, I had a quick listen of The Edge. Hiding in between all the dance songs that seem to be dominating the airwaves lately, a song suddenly popped out from nowhere. At first I mistook it as a MGMT song, but soon realised that it from a new band, Foster the People. They have some kind of electronic grove going on, but unlike most electronic music released recently, it has a very organic feel about it.

The song I heard on the radio was Pumped Up Kicks. It has plenty of raw energy, which was odd, especially considering it has been released on a major record label. The song starts with a simple bass line that continues for most of the song, and synthesisers have this wall of sound going on. The verses have muffled vocals, but it’s the chorus that makes it stand out with catchy MGMT inspired vocals. Lyrics wise, it’s much darker than most songs on the radio, with the lead singer Mark Foster singing about teenagers and gun shoot-outs.

Helena Beat features Foster’s falsetto vocals with more techno inspired instruments. This reminds me of Electric Eel for some reason. Like most of the songs on this album, it has quite a deep meaning, with this song dealing with the aftereffects of a party, where the hangover starts to sink in. Don’t Stop is pretty quirky song for Foster the People. The guitars sound as if they are shakers and the vocals sound pretty weird.

Torches might not be the most original album, with MGMT having done this type of music a few years ago, but looking at the state of music industry, hopefully more artists will do that same. Electronic music can be great, but when

(B+)

Presented by Silo Theatre, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s work The Brothers Size has been labelled a “tour de force” and its ability to “thrill audiences with its sheer kinetic energy” has made it one to watch. I went into the performance with no real expectations, but was surprised right away to see the lack of a backdrop or stage. There was one concrete stage used throughout the duration of the performance. However, through the use of the actors, the lighting, the percussion music in the background, this one set was transformed into many through imagination. This is one of several areas where this production shines. It’s greater than the sum of its parts. With minimal staging and lighting far from extravagant, it still achieves the goal any stage production aims for but doesn’t always achieve: Pulling the audience in and telling a story through the art of acting and performance.

Praise must go to the three actors who made this possible. This performance was full of heart, portrayed admirably by Jarod Rawiri as Ogun Size, Pua Magasiva as Oshoosi Size and Te Kohe Tuhaka as Elegba. All talented, all fantastic and there were several monologues immaculately acted out. Several other scenes in which the two brothers interacted were very emotionally charged and powerful. Being so close to the stage, it was incredible to watch these two brothers yell and argue at full volume at each other, both of them holding nothing back.

The back and forth interaction between each character couldn’t have stayed as engaging without a fantastic lighting and sound combination. Certain scenes were twice as powerful because of subtle dips in lighting or a short drum sequence to break up dialogue.

The Herald Theatre is a very small, intimate theatre; it seats approximately 180 people and puts you literally a few metres away from the performance, which brings an interesting, engaging quality to the production. This was the closest I’d been to a performance, but I realised that the small details in a performance can be seen in greater clarity and in greater detail when you are so close to it.

issue 13 2011

One thing I would certainly recommend is reading a short piece of back story before the show begins. I went into the Herald Theatre with little information. If I had done a small bit of reading on the overall outline of the play, I would have enjoyed it even more than I did.

Silo Theatre has a great reputation for quality theatre. This was no exception. I was impressed by what The Brothers Size was able to achieve with no change of sets, no curtain, and three actors who displayed a range of emotions over the hour and a half. You should go see it for two reasons. First, the acting is very good. Second, if you love theatre, this venue in particular has that intimate quality about it. No matter what seat you happen to get you’ll never be more than a few metres away from the performance.

The Keepers

Live at the Basement Theatre, May 31 - June 4 Theatre Review by Ksenia Khor

(B+)

The Keepers is a daring and unusual production by two recent graduates of Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School, Veronica Brady and Julia Croft. This performance, inspired by French writers Marguerite Duras and Anais Nin, challenges everything you would usually expect from conditional theatre.

The play has a right balance of innovative performance practices and traditional theatre.

The talented cast tell a touching story about love, relationships and loss. The action takes place in an old lighthouse where Margaret, presumably a widow who also lost her child, lives in exile surrounded by the shadows of her past. She became coarse and reserved because of loneliness and hard work (she has to maintain the lighthouse all by herself).

However, the isolation can’t last forever and it is interrupted by an unexpected guest, Nina. She is a total contrast to Margaret, light-hearted and playful; she initially tries to be closer to the other woman and also bring some fun to the depressing, small world of the lighthouse. Though Nina is young, she also has her personal story. Memories of past losses and broken hearts haunt both women and force them to decide whether to stay or to leave and this is what makes this story particularly compelling.

Another thing that distinguishes The Keepers is the non-conventional storytelling style. The whole story is told physically with a minimum of words. You can only fully understand the meaning of the play if you follow the actors every movement because this is what adds to

www.ausm.org.nz

the plot and reveals the characters’ personalities and previous experiences. This type of storytelling can be quite challenging for actors, but Julia Croft, Veronica Brady and Claire Cowan achieve excellence in it.

The former is also a composer who wrote the music for this play and many other productions from New Zealand and beyond.

Music helps to intensify the emotions and understand the inner world of the characters.

The lighthouse wouldn’t be the same daunting and isolated place without the various musical instruments played by Claire whose character also represents an invisible keeper and spirit of the place.

Also, I really liked the atmosphere created by the lighting and minimalistic setting. It seems like the lighthouse is a threshold of the real world that is sometimes visited by the visions of the past. On this border between pure imagination and material world simple things like old boots, an empty jar or a lipstick become symbolic reflections of the characters’ personalities and life stories.

All in all, the show stimulates curiosity and really engages with the audience. Everyone can probably find reflections of themselves in the characters. The Keepers is a brilliantly performed, emotionally intense and meaningful play. Highly recommended for those who want to step outside the boundaries and meet with an unleashed flow of creativity.

Mary Stuart

Directed by Colin McColl Live at the Maidment Theatre, May 28 Theatre Review by Ksenia Khor

(A+)

“For a Queen to stand, a Queen must fall” says the leaflet about one of the most recent productions of the Auckland Theatre Company, Mary Stuart. Based on the play by Friedrich Schiller, this is a new interpretation of an infamous historical rivalry of two sisters: Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth of England, one of the most influential queens in the English history. The 16th century wasn’t an easy period for the Albion: a fast succession of rulers, separation from the Catholic Church and constant wars. Elizabeth was proclaimed the Queen after it was known that her predecessor on the throne, Mary I, couldn’t give birth to the heir. However, Mary Stuart was another heir to the English throne and therefore was a threat to Elizabeth’s rule. Later, The Queen of Scots was accused for the murder

of her husband and later imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle in Scotland.

This episode from the English history inspired many playwrights and directors to revive this conflict of ambition and power on both stage and screen. Often, Elizabeth is portrayed as a noble and strong ruler while Mary Stuart is just a nasty half-sister who is trying to get the throne through intrigues and secret plots. However, Auckland Theatre Company gave a totally fresh take on this classical story. In their version, Mary is a victim of unfair judgment, betrayal and her sister’s ambitions and desire to keep the throne. She bears her isolation with dignity and strength. Elizabeth, in contrast, is hysterical, often weak and unable to make any decisions because of blindness with the fear of her elder sister and desire of keeping the power. Also, she can’t stand remarks on her birth (she is considered to be a bastard by the Catholics because her mother, Anne Boleyn, was Henry VIII’s second wife and this was inappropriate before England became a protestant country). The resolution of personal conflict is important for the future of the whole country and though it is known beforehand that Mary Stuart will be executed, the audience still follows the actors’ every step and listens to every word.

This play couldn’t be so impressive without a brilliant performance by one of the most talented casts in New Zealand. They delivered the story truthfully and vividly and made audience really feel the tragedy of the legendary Mary Stuart. Robyn Malcolm and Elizabeth Hawthorne, who played Mary and Elizabeth respectively, deserve special praise; their performances are stunning and powerful. Thanks to them, the two hour play just flew by. Not mention there was also a touch of humor that made it a tad less grave.

Though we will never know what actually happened several centuries ago and what kind of persons those women were, I strongly recommend the play. Mary Stuart is just an unforgettable and moving theatre masterpiece.

31.

32.

issue 13 2011

Spot the Difference

Name Phone # Email Campus greenlantern_final.pdf

1

18/05/11

Correctly identify the five differences in the two photos then and drop your entry circle them into your nearest Au SM office, or the bo of the red debate sta x on the side nds, or post to deba te PO Box 6116 We before 12pm Thurs llesley St day. What’s up fo r grabs? Two “squawk vouchers for Velve burgers” t Burger on Fort St, Auckland CBD. Co to our issue 12 win ngratulations ner, Minerva Manz ano, City Campus.

4:07 PM

to celebrate the release of Warner Bros. Pictures and debate are giving you the chance to

IN SEASON DOUBLE PASSES TO THE MOVIE. In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan.

To enter, answer the following question: Which actress – best known for her roles in The Town and Gossip Girl – plays Hal Jordan’s childhood sweetheart, Carol Ferris?

Send your answer to debate@aut.ac.nz, with Green Lantern in the subject line.

WWW.GREENLANTERNMOVIE.CO.NZ

IN CINEMAS JUNE 16, 2011 www.ausm.org.nz

RATING: TBC

33.

Mahmoud Shiblaq Bachelor of Business

What are your plans for after exams?

Partying, chilling, praying and gym-ing Do you want to stay in New Zealand once you graduate?

Probably not. I’d probably go to Australia or maybe somewhere in the Middle East What’s your favourite Harry Potter character and why?

Flint because he looks like a soccer player What’s one of your goals for next semester?

To pass my papers What are your thoughts on The Hangover Part II? It was a good movie. Loved the monkey

Kelly “Wolf Pack” Moekhu Bachelor of Event Management

What are your plans for after exams?

Cruise back home to Taranaki and just chill for a month Do you want to stay in New Zealand once you graduate?

Undecided. May go to the Middle East What’s your favourite Harry Potter character and why?

Ron Weasley. Love the ginga-ninja. And he’s funny What’s one of your goals for next semester?

Hopefully pass all my papers and make even more lifelong friends. And to find the one true love of my life What are your thoughts on The Hangover Part II? It rocks. As you can tell by my nickname, I love it. Three thumbs up

Jerome LePou

Bachelor of Business

What are your plans for after exams?

Party and catch up with my mates Do you want to stay in New Zealand once you graduate?

Yeah I do What’s your favourite Harry Potter character and why?

Myrtle – the ghost in the bathroom, because she’s kind of seedy. And she’s funny What’s one of your goals for next semester?

To be more motivated What are your thoughts on The Hangover Part II? Haven’t seen it yet

Elbe Luttig

Certificate of Art and Design

What are your plans for after exams?

We don’t have exams but I want to get my overdue drivers licence Do you want to stay in New Zealand once you graduate?

I want to travel a lot but I’ll probably live here What’s your favourite Harry Potter character and why?

Luna Lovegood because she’s just so quirky and adorable What’s one of your goals for next semester?

To pass, have a good time and make new friends What are your thoughts on The Hangover Part II? Can’t wait to see it

Bianca Thompson

Certificate of Art and Design

What are your plans for after exams?

Learn to train a goldfish Do you want to stay in New Zealand once you graduate?

I’m going to go wherever the wind blows me What’s your favourite Harry Potter character and why?

Haven’t seen it What’s one of your goals for next semester?

To get out of life drawing. We have to draw naked people What are your thoughts on The Hangover Part II? I’ve never seen the first one, so don’t really have an opinion on it

Ronita Kumar What are your plans for after exams?

I’m going to study psychology Do you want to stay in New Zealand once you graduate?

Yeah, definitely. That’s my hood What’s your favourite Harry Potter character and why?

Hermione Granger because she’s really intelligent so she’s got good comebacks What’s one of your goals for next semester?

Aim high. 110 per cent What are your thoughts on The Hangover Part II? I just watched that. It was so good my mum watched it

Watchout for debate around campus - you could be the next micro-celeb!

34.

issue 13 2011

North Shore

Manukau

City Campus

Tuesday, 7 June

Wednesday, 8 June

Thursday, 9th June & Friday 10 June

Free breakfast AuSM office from 9am*

Free breakfast AuSM office from 9am*

Free breakfast WC202 from 9am*

Free feed Awataha Plaza from 12pm*

Free feed Usual spot from 12pm*

Free evening snack bar WC202 from 4pm*

*Limited to one serving per person until gone.

Want some cold, hard cash in your pocket???

UBS starts buying back your used textbooks for

instant cash

from Tuesday the 7th of June 2011

Get 50% of the current RRP of the textbook in cash Just bring in your textbooks and ID and the cash could be yours!!!

The small print:

* Books must have been confirmed by AUT for Semester Two 2011 to be considered for purchase and must be the correct edition. * All textbooks are limited to pre-determined quantities. Once these limits are reached, additional copies may only be purchased at the discretion of UBS. * Proof of identity (Student ID or Drivers Licence or Passport) is required at time of selling your textbooks. * UBS has complete discretion whether it purchases back a textbook and its decision is final. * Other conditions do apply - please ask in store for details.

AUT Akoranga Campus AUT City Campus 90 Akoranga Drive, Northcote 55 Wellesley Street East, Auckland City Tel: 489 6105 Fax: 489 7453 Tel: 366 4550 Fax: 366 4570 Email: aut.akoranga@ubsbooks.co.nz Email: aut.city@ubsbooks.co.nz Web: www.ubsbooks.co.nz Open Monday to Friday or shop securely online 24/7 issue 13 2011 36.